Agoraphobic Dublin thief who tapped stolen bank card ‘struggles greatly’ in public

Aimee Claffey (25) suffers from anxiety and “struggles greatly being out in public”, her lawyer said.

Claffey became aggressive upon arrest and she spit out when in the back of a patrol car.

Judge Ciaran Liddy fined Claffey €700.

The defendant, with a previous address at Harelawn Park in Clondalkin, admitted charges of theft and criminal damage to a patrol car.

Garda Sarah Moloney told Blanchardstown District Court Claffey used a stolen bank card at Tesco, Liffey Valley Shopping Centre, on April 20, 2020. She tapped the card and bought groceries, worth €29.

Gda Moloney said Claffey then used the card at Dunnes Stores in Clondalkin, buying goods worth €24.

Gardaí searched the defendant’s boyfriend’s house two weeks later and found the stolen bank card in his bedroom.

The bank had refunded the money to the card’s owner.

Claffey became aggressive when she was being arrested, and was verbally abusive toward gardaí.

She spat when she was in the back of the patrol car, and the car had to be cleaned, Gda Moloney said.

The court heard Claffey had never been in trouble before.

Claffey’s defence lawyer said Claffey, a single woman with four young children, wanted to make it clear that she did not spit at gardaí.

He said his client’s boyfriend would have been well known to gardaí, but it was an abusive relationship and the pair were no longer together.

The defendant had suffered with addictions to tablets and cannabis in the past but she had been clean for more than 18 months. She had not been in trouble since this incident.

Claffey suffered with anxiety and PTSD and struggled greatly with being out in public, the lawyer added.