On your bike Finglas man who bought stolen electric bike 'for €50 off some foreigner' avoids jail

A man caught with a stolen electric bike accepted he was reckless when he “bought it for €50 off some foreigner on Moore Street”, a court heard.

Gardaí became suspicious when they saw Graham Nolan (26) had the bike on an inner city street, but was unable to cycle it.

Judge Bryan Smyth gave him a four-month suspended sentence at Dublin District Court.

Nolan, of Rathvilly Drive, Finglas, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property.

The court heard the incident happened at Summerhill Parade at 12.20pm on January 24 last year.

Gardaí saw the accused in possession of the bicycle in suspicious circumstances – he was unable to cycle it.

When Garda Gerard Hanahoe asked where he got the bike, Nolan said “he bought it for €50 off some foreigner on Moore Street.”

Asked further about this, Nolan said he “just jumped on it because it was a good deal”.

Nolan was arrested and the garda located the injured party, a Brazilian delivery driver who needed the bike to make a living. It was valued at €1,500 and had been stolen from outside a restaurant.

Nolan had 41 previous convictions He accepted he was “reckless” and “should have known better than to buy a bike for that price”, his solicitor Aoife McNicholl said,

Nolan had a significant addiction for a long period, having started taking drugs at a young age to cope after a traumatic childhood. He was waiting for a place in rehab.

The judge suspended the sentence for two years.