A fifty-year-old man from Cartron, Granard, has been sentenced to two years and four months, of which nine months are suspended, after he was found guilty of three charges of having stolen property and one count of dishonesty in a long-drawn-out hearing at Longford Circuit Court. The convicted man, John Alex Kane, also faced various other charges – of criminal damage and of forging documents – when he stood before Judge Kenneth Connolly.
On the 10th of January 2023, Mr Kane admitted culpability, on grounds of recklessness, for being in possession of stolen goods – a New Holland TM155 tractor, a John Deere 6220 tractor, and a Toyota Hilux jeep – during the period from January to April 2018, finding him at Rathcronan, Granard. He also accepted guilt for swindling a man into buying a John Deere tractor for €25,000 within the state, on a date after November 1st in 2018.
No prosecution was pursued for the charge of causing damage to property, and charges for falsifying documents were taken into consideration. Detective Garda Brendan Lyn presented evidence to court that a farmer’s blue Toyota Hilux had been stolen when the owner was occupied assisting a vet with an animal in need of care, on the 27th of February in 2023 at Enniscorthy.
Subsequently, on the 14th of March in the same year, officiall officers unearthed the stolen Hilux on Mr Kane’s property bearing the number plate VEZ4568. Close by was a black Hilux, sans number plate and with chassis details erased.
Voluntarily, Mr Kane provided a narrative of how he came by the Hilux, claiming that an unknown male from Enniskillen had arrived at his garage and proposed the sale of the blue Hilux. He added that he had received an invoice from a motor trade business in Northern Ireland and the vehicle had a number plate when he acquired it. Unflinchingly, he disputed carrying out any work on the vehicle.
A farmer in the UK noted the theft of his New Holland TM155 tractor as particularly devastating, occurring mid-harvest season. Despite receiving a £20,000 insurance payout, the farmer emphasised that it didn’t equate to the true worth of the tractor. He was forced to enhance his overall security, and the tractor’s absence greatly disrupted his farming operations.
Similarly, the manager of a UK-based donkey sanctuary noted the disappearance of their John Deere tractor in November 2017 was markedly troublesome for their operations.
During the trial, Judge Connolly expressed dissatisfaction with all the explanations provided by Mr Kane concerning his acquisition of the vehicles. The judge acknowledged Mr Kane’s strong work ethic, but he suspects that someone involved with vehicles since their early teens would be knowledgeable enough by their 50s to perform the necessary vehicle checks.
At the time of sentencing, Judge Connolly remarked that although Mr Kane faces a charge of possessions of stolen goods instead of theft or handling stolen items, his solicitor, Mr O’Higgins, rightly noted that if there were no receivers of stolen goods, theft would not exist.
The trial will continue into July 30, at which point Mr Kane is expected back in court when the commitment warrant will be issued, and he will begin his sentence.