AN ASPIRING amateur boxer who admitted stealing low value goods from a County Limerick bungalow denied he stole more than €62,000 worth of jewellery and property in the raid.
Patrick Cauley, (25) with addresses in White Cross Gardens, Moyross and in Ennis, was one of three men involved in the burglary of a home on the outskirts of Rathkeale on June 25, 2012.
Denis Aherne (41) of Lemonfield House, Crecora was the driver of the vehicle used by the men.
During a sentencing hearing at Limerick Circuit Court this week, Judge Tom O’Donnell was told by Garda Denis McCarthy that the owners of the bungalow were alerted to the activation of their alarm while they were away for the weekend.
Property valued at €62,000 was stolen including three Rolex watches, one of which was valued at €27,000, gold and diamond rings, a plasma TV, Louis Vitton and Coco Channel handbags as well as ornaments and glassware of considerable value.
An insurance claim made by the owners was rejected.
Denis Aherne was identified as being the owner and driver of a car that was spotted in the area. He was arrested and questioned and made admissions. Another man, referred to as Mr X, was arrested and charged with the burglary.
However he has since absconded and remains at large outside the jurisdiction.
Four months later, Patrick Cauley was arrested, questioned and a DNA sample was taken. A first test proved inconclusive but a second test confirmed a match to a blood spatter left after the plasma TV was ripped from the wall of the house.
He made a full admission to Gardaí when he was arrested on January 16, 2014.
The court heard that the three men met in Limerick and drove through rural parts of the county targeting isolated houses.
They knocked on the door of the bungalow and when there was no answer, they broke in and ransacked the house.
Both Aherne and Cauley admitted to taking some items but denied ever seeing or stealing the watches and jewellery.
They stored the stolen items overnight and met a “travelling man, who bought the stolen goods for €150.
The court heard that Denis Aherne, who had no previous convictions, had significant medical issues of a psychological nature.
Patrick Cauley, who is an unemployed father of two with 52 previous convictions, was described in court as promising amateur boxer who had avoided criminality since he began his boxing career more than three years ago.
Defence Counsel Brian McInerney BL said his client was competing for national titles and had aspirations to turn professional.
Adjourning the case to April 5, Judge O’Donnell said “there is no doubt that there is a dilemma over the value of the property, but be it a pot plant or €62,000 a burglary is a significant violation of a person’s home.”
