Enniskillen Courthouse
A LITHUANIAN man was “equipped for theft” apprehended by the local community in the Derrylin area, who detained him until police arrived.
Tomas Politovas (28) of Fairview Drive, Monaghan appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday via video link from Maghaberry Prison, where he pleaded guilty to going equipped for theft.
Shortly before 11pm on January 23rd police received a report of a man being detained around a mile-and-a-half from Derrylin. The man, Politovas, had been seen acting suspiciously in the area of the Belturbet Road. Local residents had noticed a dark Ford Focus car parked on a road verge, and then saw Politovas standing in field close by. The defendant then ran off.
The residents eventually found Politovas later that evening, wet and in a dishevelled state, as he was walking down the main road.
When police arrived they found a torch in the defendant’s pocket, which he said was normal for him. They also found a black rubber glove in the field, which he denied owning. When they returned to the field in day light the next day, they found the matching glove, and found a black woolly hat which Politovas said was his.
In his police interview Politovas said he’d been driving to Cavan with a friend, as he wanted to go as he’d never been before. He was unable to tell police his friend’s surname or the registration of the Ford Focus.
The defendant said they took a wrong turn while en route from Monaghan to Cavan, and had stopped to go to the toilet in the field. He said while there he saw the lights of a car and got frightened and ran off. Politovas said he hid for around two hours, after his friend drove off, and had been too scared to call police.
The court was told Politovas had no record in the North, but was on bail for burglary charges in the South in relation to a rural burglary in Monaghan in January. He is also facing deportation back to Lithuania, where he is known to police and has served a sentence for robbery.
Defence barrister Ciaran Roddy asked the court to give Politovas credit for his guilty plea, and pointed out he had already served approximately two-and-half months in custody.
District Judge Bonita Boyd sentenced him to four months in prison.
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