A man has been jailed in Donegal after being caught driving a Range Rover stolen in Northern Ireland.
Thomas Byrne received a six-month prison sentence after appearing before Ballyshannon District Court.
According to Inspector Michael Doherty, gardai stopped Byrne after a white Range Rover was reported stolen from the Belleek area of County Fermanagh.
Byrne was apprehended by gardai on April 28, 2025, at Rathinney Glebe, Ballintra.
The 45-year-old faced charges of handling stolen property, specifically a white Range Rover Evoque, knowing it was stolen or being reckless as to that possibility. This charge falls under section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.
He was also charged with dangerous driving at Cavan Gardens, Ballyshannon, contrary to section 53 (1) of the Road Traffic Act, 1961, as substituted by section 4 of the Road Traffic (No.2) Act, 2011. The court was informed that he was driving at 140km/h in a 100km/h zone.
On the same date, he was further charged with dishonestly leaving Centra on Assaroe Road, Ballyshannon, without paying €70.03 for diesel; a charge contrary to section 8 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001.
Byrne, with an address at Oakgrove, Kinlough, Co Leitrim, was also charged with stealing €643.13 worth of goods from Homesavers, Saimer Court Shopping Centre, Ballyshannon on January 24, 2025.
The stolen items included six throws, two rugs, a superhero mask, four Hot Wheel cars, four Matchbox cars, a folding dryer rack, four packets of batteries, three Pokemon watch gifts, 11 Princess watch gifts, one Heat and Eat burger maker, one Heat and Eat sausage roll maker, and three tins of emulsion paint.
Byrne was brought to court from Castlerea Prison. His solicitor, Mr. Frank Murphy, stated that his client wished to plead guilty to all charges.
Mr. Murphy explained that his client has been seeking help for addiction issues. He noted that Byrne was “very contrite” during his encounter with the gardai. Mr. Murphy also added that Byrne, a father of two, is engaging well with services in prison and is now “throwing himself at the mercy of the court.”
Judge Ciaran Liddy sentenced Byrne to six months in prison for handling stolen property. For the dangerous driving charge, Byrne received a two-year driving ban. The remaining charges were taken into consideration.
Byrne was additionally charged with a hit-and-run and property damage incident on March 1, 2021, at Oakgrove, Kinlough. The court heard that significant damage resulted and an injured party reported hearing “two loud bangs” before the other vehicle fled the scene.
For the hit-and-run charge, Byrne received a concurrent six-month prison sentence, with credit for time already served.
