A MAN in the throes of a heroin addiction who robbed a delivery van containing over €1million worth of pharmaceutical products, after the driver left the keys in the ignition, did not know the expensive cargo was on board, a court heard.
Judge Colin Daly jailed Jason Curtin (32), of Railway House, Spitland, Old Cork Road, Limerick, for four years with the final year suspended, at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
Mr Curtin’s barrister, Liam Carroll BL, said the defendant had since made efforts to turn his life around, particularly following the alleged murder of his brother, Ger Curtin, who was found dead in suspicious circumstances in Limerick City on November 4, 2023. A man is currently before the courts charged with murder.
Outlining the facts of the van theft, prosecuting barrister John O’Sullivan said “the driver left his keys in the ignition, the accused saw his opportunity and he brazenly sat into the van and stole it”.
Mr Curtin – who the court heard had 190 previous convictions – drove the van the wrong way down a one-way street with the driver running after the vehicle before leaving the van at a nearby housing estate.
Curtin proceeded to break into a shed and a car at a residential property where he stole a high viability jacket and a cap, and caused €400 to a gate at the house.
Gardaí found Curtin a short time later hiding in a ditch at the house, wearing the stolen cap and in possession of the keys to the stolen van.
Officers quickly located the van, which contained a built-in satellite tracker.
Gardaí agreed with Mr Curtin’s barrister that the van theft, which occurred on July 20, 2024, was “a crime of opportunism”.
Mr Carroll said Curtin — who pleaded guilty to theft of the van, burglary of the shed, possession of stolen property, and criminal damage — apologised to all parties and said his own behaviour on the day was “disgusting”.
The barrister said the defendant, who has a partner and a child and another baby on the way, was now “motivated to live a life of freedom from crime” due to the trauma of his brother’s death.
“He says he has made mistakes and he hopes the van driver hasn’t got into trouble because of his actions. Mr Curtin says he is not a bad person, but that drugs turn him into a different person,” Mr Carroll said.
“He is going to school now, he is on methadone for the first time in his life, he has begun to make a change and he wants to be there for his partner and his children.”
Judge Colin Daly said mitigation in the case was significantly lost due to Mr Curtin’s “recidivism” and high number of previous convictions.
The judge imposed two four-year jail sentences, to run concurrently, and backdated to July 20 last, for the van theft and shed burglary.
Judge Daly suspended the final 12 months of the sentence provided Mr Curtin keeps the peace and engages with the probation services or one year after his sentence ends.
The two remaining offences, possession of stolen goods and criminal damage, were taken into consideration.
