Women out for night targeted by purse thief
Friday January 16 2009
A HANDBAG thief who specifically targeted women out enjoying themselves in pubs has said she turned to shop-lifting so she could feed her serious drug addiction.
Kathleen Joyce (24) went "on a rampage", said a District Court judge, and took "bags, money, everything" from innocent female customers in numerous pubs and restaurants.
Joyce's behaviour was "absolutely frenetic" over a short period of time, agreed her lawyer Fiona Brennan.
Joyce, with an address at Annaly Close, Ongar, Dublin 15, admitted before Blanchardstown District Court to 19 separate charges, most were theft, handling stolen property and failing to appear in court.
The mother of one stole her first handbag from a lady in The Living Room, Findlater Place on August 17, and her last handbag theft was from a woman enjoying a meal in Pizza Hut on September 27.
Socialising
On September 14, Joyce stole handbags and their contents from three different women who were socialising in The Bell pub in Blanchardstown.
That same day, she took a bag from a woman in The Paddocks pub in Littlepace and another handbag from a woman in Cumiskey's Pub on Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin 7.
All in all, Joyce stole more than €2,000 worth of handbags and their contents from women while they were out socialising.
The court heard that Joyce has 40 previous convictions, mostly for public order and theft matters. Her convictions only date back to 2006.
Defence solicitor Fiona Brennan said Joyce has a "multiplicity of problems", including a serious drug addiction.
The court heard that Joyce has been in custody since early December on these charges.
Ms Brennan said Joyce has suffered severe difficulties in custody, including psychiatric problems which led to her being isolated, and this caused further distress to her.
The judge sentenced Joyce to a total of two years in prison suspended for two years. Judge McMahon urged Joyce to "do her best" and said that if she appears before him again she will go to prison.
ecotter@herald.ie
- Eimear Cotter
