Man with almost 250 previous convictions jailed for stealing paddleboards from The Range
A Dunmurry man with an “horrific” record of nearly 250 previous convictions has been jailed again for six months, this time for stealing paddleboards from The Range in Newtownabbey.
James Bonner, aged 51, admitted taking three of the rafts valued at £480 from the Glengormley store.
A defence lawyer told Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Monday, May 12 that Bonner’s life of crime has left him in a demoralised state.
Eoghan McKenna said: “He knows he’s too old and needs to learn to avoid bad influences if asked by others with more energy than him to drive them to these offences.”
The court heard how staff at the store spotted two men taking the three paddleboards from The Range at Northcott Shopping Centre on July 14 last year.
Bonner, whose address was listed as Glengoland Gardens in Dunmurry, was identified as one of the thieves following an examination of the store’s CCTV footage.
Police officers subsequently arrested him after they stopped a car in the Andersonstown Road area of Belfast.
Bonner, who has amassed 247 previous convictions, pleaded guilty to the new offences of theft and of using a motor vehicle without insurance.
District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons told him: “You do have an horrific record.”
Imposing six months custody for the latest offences, she ordered them to run alongside sentences the defendant is currently serving for separate offences.