Donegal man jailed for driving a stolen Mercedes

A Donegal man has been sentenced to jail after being discovered driving a automotive which was stolen in England.

James Mitchell was given a 20-month jail sentence having been discovered dealing with the stolen Mercedes E350 AMG in January 2020. It was found that the automobile had a cloned registration.

Mitchell, now 42 and with 72 earlier convictions, was additionally delay the street for 15 years by Choose John Aylmer at Letterkenny Circuit Court docket.

On the time of this incident, Mitchell was purported to be serving a ten-year driving ban, handed down in 2014 for driving with out insurance coverage.

Detective Garda Derek Connaughton outlined the details of the case to Ms Fiona Crawford BL, counsel for the State.

Gardai famous the registration of a black Mercedes and investigations confirmed that it was a cloned registration. The automobile was registered to a storage within the UK that confirmed that they have been in possession of a Mercedes automotive with that registration plate, Detective Garda Connaughton mentioned.

When Mitchell was approached at The Elms, Letterkenny, on January 16, 2020 he was holding a key for the automotive in his hand and the motive force’s window was smashed. Mitchell had simply pushed again to the property at The Elms when Gardai swooped.

Beneath warning, Mitchell instructed officers that he had purchased the automotive for breaking. The automobile was seized and the chassis quantity was traced again to a Mr Singh in Wolverhampton. He had left the automotive to a storage in October 2019 to restore a leak and the automobile was stolen when the premises was burgled.

Mr Singh was mentioned to be ‘completely gutted’ that the automotive was stolen. The automobile was subsequently returned to him by the authorities.

Mitchell instructed Garda that he didn’t know the automotive was stolen and mentioned he purchased the automotive on the docks in Belfast as a written-off class B automotive. He mentioned he purchased the automotive for €5,500 and the window had been damaged throughout a home dispute together with his accomplice.

Mitchell was charged that he did with out lawful authority or excuse possess stolen property, a black Mercedes E350 AMG, understanding that the property was stolen or being reckless as as to whether it was stolen.

He was additionally charged with driving a mechanically propelled automobile, a black Mercedes E350 AMG, in a public place with out insurance coverage.

The courtroom heard that Mitchell has 72 earlier convictions, together with three for dealing with stolen property, seven for theft, three for prison injury and a spread of public order, street site visitors and misuse of medication offences. The courtroom was knowledgeable that the accused man had ‘a number of’ no insurance coverage convictions.

Requested by Mr Peter Nolan BL, Mitchell’s barrister, if there have been any difficulties when Gardai went to go looking Mitchell’s property, Detective Garda Connaughton mentioned officers hid behind the suspect till he pulled into his driveway.

Mr Nolan mentioned his shopper is a 42-year-old separated man who’s a father-of-five. Mr Nolan instructed the courtroom that Mitchell didn’t know that the automotive was stolen however ‘accepts that he might have been reckless’. Mr Nolan mentioned Mitchell has labored for round 15 years as a panel beater and entered enterprise alongside his brother earlier this yr having beforehand labored within the meat manufacturing unit in Carrigans.

Mitchell has been in custody since Could and this has ‘vastly improved his heath’, Mr Nolan added, noting that Mitchell has been coping with drug and alcohol issues.

“He has gained some knowledge and perception and he sees that he must get his life in place and structured,” Mr Nolan mentioned, asking the courtroom to contemplate Mitchell’s early plea within the matter.

Choose Aylmer mentioned he thought of that the case was ‘on the extra excessive finish of recklessness for an individual concerned within the motor commerce’. An aggravating characteristic of the case was that Mitchell was disqualified from driving on the time.

Choose Aylmer mentioned the dealing with of the stolen automotive cost merited a place to begin of two-and-a-half years imprisonment and the driving with out insurance coverage cost ought to have a place to begin of six months in jail earlier than mitigation.

That the automobile was returned to its proprietor was not in mitigation, Choose Aylmer mentioned, complimenting good police work.

He mentioned there was some stage of cooperation from Mitchell, who he mentioned has a ‘good work historical past’ and has 5 youngsters. He mentioned Mitchell had tendered an early responsible plea, albeit when he was ‘caught red-handed’.

For dealing with the stolen Mercedes, Mitchell was sentenced to twenty months imprisonment whereas he was given a four-month jail sentence for driving with out insurance coverage. The sentences are to run concurrently to one another and consecutive to a sentence presently being served by Mitchell.

Mitchell was additionally disqualified from holding a driving licence for a interval of 15 years.

Donegal man jailed for driving a stolen Mercedes was final modified: October twenty seventh, 2023 by Workers Author