Tesco Greystones Shoplifter Had 178 Previous Convictions

Every prison term helps…

tealing alcohol to the value of €303 from Tesco Greystones has seen 23-year-old Martin Stokes get an additional 10 months on his prison sentence.

Given that his current address is Wheatfield Prison in Clondalkin.

At a sitting of Bray District Court this week it was revealed that Stokes had 178 previous convictions and was currently serving a two-year sentence for a separate offence.

It was Garda Breen who responded to a report of three men shoplifting at Tesco Greystones on September 14th, 2024, and upon reviewing CCTV footage, observed the accused placing bottles into his shorts.

As reported by Darragh McCann in The Irish Independent, solicitor for the defence, Dermot Hickey, explained that the accused’s father “has been in and out of custody for the majority of Stokes’ life”, an upbringing that led his client to first taking drugs at 14 years old. Describing him as a model prisoner today – and one who has just finished his Bronze Gaisce award – Hickey concluded that Stokes was “now doing everything he didn’t get to do when he was young”.

For his part, Judge David Kennedy told the defendant that he had “never seen anyone so young with this extraordinary number of previous convictions“.

Stokes pleaded guilt to the offence, and was given a 10-month sentence, with his release now set for December 2026.

Original information funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme