Man with 108 previous convictions who stole thousands of pounds worth of goods from vehicles at Nutts Corner is sentenced
A man with 108 previous convictions who stole thousands of pounds worth of tools from vans at a car park at Nutts Corner Market has been sentenced.
William John Mongan (40), with an address previously listed as Tonagh Mews in Lisburn but now given as Beechmount Walk in Belfast, committed offences on Sunday August 7 in 2022.
Three vans had been broken in to at the car park at the Market between 10.30am and 12.30pm. Holes were cut in two of the vans to gain access.
One van owner did not make a complaint to police, a prosecutor told Antrim Magistrates Court, sitting in Ballymena.
The defendant pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to a Ford Transit van and stealing tools from it worth £2,230. He had denied a charge of stealing tools worth £2,900 from a Peugeot Expert van but was convicted of that charge.
A prosecutor said the Transit owner said it had been broken into by "slicing" the door, causing a "six inch hole in the bodywork". The defendant's DNA was found.
The Peugeot van owner said the window had been forced down and the central locking system was pressed to gain access. £2,900 worth of tools including drills, saws and grinders were taken.
At an earlier court, District Judge Nigel Broderick said there was "every reason" why the defendant should go to a jail as they were high-value thefts and he had an "atrocious criminal record".
To give the defendant a chance to continue engagement with Probation, the judge said it was "not without significant hesitation" that he was not jailing him. Sentencing had been adjourned until September to see if the defendant could stay out of trouble and engage positively with a current Probation Order.
At court on Tuesday, Judge Broderick said the defendant had an "appalling" record and the tools taken were of high value.
He said the victims would have been subjected to major inconvenience as the items were the tools of their trade and without them they would have been unable to work.
He said the defendant had honoured the conditions of the deferral by not reoffending and he had engaged positively with Probation.
"For those reasons I will not send you to prison," the judge said. The defendant was given a ten months prison term, suspended for three years.
He said Mongan was on benefits "and I don't see any prospect of you being able to make restitution and that is the only reason I am not making you pay restitution".