Builder (35) stole candles from supermarket as a ‘surprise’ for his wife

Dmitrijs Jakovlevs (35) had already purchased a number of items in preparation for the celebration, his solicitor said, but took the candles and did not pay for them.

The defendant, of Thornleigh Road, Applewood Village, pleaded guilty to stealing the two candles valued at €15 from Dunnes Stores in the Pavilions Shopping Centre, Swords on March 7th this year.

Sergeant Patricia McGarrity said the accused entered the shop at 7.30pm on the evening in question, put two candles into a black duffle bag and left the premises without making any attempt to pay.

He was stopped by security staff and the items were recovered in saleable condition, she said.

The court heard Jakovlevs is a married father of two young children who works in construction and earns €700 a week.

The accused has 25 previous convictions, including one for handling stolen property for which he received a four-month sentence, suspended for 12 months.

This matter was a triggering offence for the suspended sentence, Sergeant McGarrity told the court.

The solicitor for the defence said Jakovlevs wished to convey to the court how sorry he was for what he had done.

At the time of his arrest, he had been planning a celebration for his wife the following day and wanted to “surprise her”.

She said he had already purchased other items for this celebration and that was the reason he took the candles.

The solicitor said Jakovlevs was very apologetic and very concerned about the suspended sentence hanging over his head.

She said that while he does have previous convictions, this matter was relatively minor, he was co-operative with gardaí and the candles were recovered in saleable condition.

Judge Paul Kelly convicted the accused and imposed a fine of €150.

He adjourned the suspended sentence matter back to the CCJ on November 14.