A heroin addict was sentenced to eight months in prison for burglary of a jewellers and criminal damage at the premises. Ciaran Byrne, of Rossfield Park in Tallaght, pleaded guilty to burglary at Ronan Campbell Jewellers at City West shopping centre on March 1st, 2008.
He also pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage at the same premises. Byrne (33), who has been addicted to heroin since he was 16, admitted he had taken heroin earlier in the day of the burglary and that his addiction to the drug was the motivation behind the burglary. Judge Martin Nolan said there was no point in applying the Probation Act as Byrne “has to make up his own mind whether he wants to lead a productive life or a life of crime”.