GUILTY PLEA | 

Dad stole €1,500 of clothes from Dublin store to ‘support his children’, court told

Ionut Smadici pleaded guilty to theft and possession of an implement for use in the course of a theft.

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​A father-of-three was trying to support his children when he repeatedly shoplifted clothes from a menswear store, a court heard.

When Ionut Smadici (37) was caught with a de-tagging device, foil-lined bag and stolen shirts, CCTV was checked and he was seen taking hundreds of euros worth of goods in earlier thefts.

Judge Máire Conneely adjourned the case for a probation report.

Smadici, with an address at a homeless hostel in Newbridge, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to theft and possession of an implement for use in the course of a theft.

Blanchardstown District Court heard gardaí were called to Liffey Valley Shopping Centre on July 16 last year.

Security staff had stopped the accused in relation to thefts from Best Menswear.

He was searched and had an object for removing magnetic tags from clothing, as well as a foil-lined bag.

He also had three men’s shirts that had been taken from the shop.

The value of the stolen goods was €390 and they were recovered.

Smadici was identified as having been involved in three other thefts where more than €1,500 worth of goods was taken on earlier dates in 2023 and 2022.​