Jail for man, 43, who stole e-scooter in Cork city

A man aged 43 who stole an e-scooter in Cork city knew what it was like to be the victim of such a crime as he had his own e-scooter stolen previously.

Peter Mullins, of Argideen Lawn, Togher, was jailed for five months for the theft.

During his submission in mitigation, solicitor Shane Collins-Daly said Mullins was aware of the distress to the owner of having an e-scooter stolen as he had one stolen from him in the past.

Judge Mary Dorgan said: 

“One e-scooter cannot be swapped for another, in fairness.”

Mr Collins-Daly said the defendant accepted this but just wanted to make the point that he had some insight into the impact that his offending would have had.

Mullins has 93 previous convictions, including 12 for theft, six for robbery, and one for taking a car. Mr Collins-Daly said: “He is at the stage in his life where he knows he cannot keep living the lifestyle he is living. He spends a period of time out of custody but ends in a spiral of drug addiction and committing these offences.”

Sergeant Gearóid Davis said that on March 5 the owner of an e-scooter locked it to a pole on Hanover Place at lunchtime. When he returned at 4pm it was gone and the lock was missing. CCTV from a neighbouring premises showed Mullins approaching it at around 3.45pm and spending about five minutes ripping it from the lock. He eventually left with it.