Man who committed series of “mean-spirited” and “sly” thefts jailed for two years

By Eimear Dodd

A man who stole over €9,700 in a series of “mean-spirited” and “sly” thefts has been jailed for two years. 

Vasile Lazar (52) pleaded guilty to eight counts of theft on dates between November 22, 2022 and January 24 this year at locations including Donaghmeade, Swords, Artane, Bettystown Co. Meath, and Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.

Lazar, of Trimgate Street, Navan, Co. Meath, further pleaded to one count of attempted robbery on January 19 this year.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told today that Lazar stole €9,745 in total. None of the money or any items taken were recovered.

Judge Orla Crowe said these were “mean-spirited, sly and underhanded offences” which would have impacted the victims and caused them a loss of confidence.

She said Lazar had gone on two “sprees of lifting purses in shops” and had also withdrawn money where he could.

Judge Crowe said Lazar had “picked” on people in shops who were distracted while doing their shopping.

She handed Lazar concurrent sentences of two years, which she backdated to the date he entered custody.

The investigating garda told Lisa Dempsey BL, prosecuting, that the first victim noticed her purse had been taken while she was shopping in Dunnes Stores in the Northside Shopping Centre, on November 22, 2022.

CCTV showed a middle-aged man with distinctive glasses taking the woman’s purse from her bag, which had been hanging from the trolley.

There was €20 in the purse and other items, including a debit card.

Separately, Lazar withdrew €500 from an ATM in Donaghmeade Shopping Centre on December 1, after he had stolen the victim’s purse.

The court heard the victim had her pin written on small piece of paper in her purse.

After stealing another woman’s purse and iPhone, Lazar used her Google Pay make a payment of €650 to a company based in Cyprus.

On another occasion, Lazar stole the victim’s purse, then used her debit card to withdraw a total of €1,600.

In a separate incident, the victim was due to lodge €5,300 for her employer after purchasing supplies at Lidl, Dublin Road, Swords on December 2 last.

The cash had been wrapped and concealed in a ‘Polly Pocket’ purse and the victim became aware that the money was gone while queuing in the bank.

She was distressed and contacted her employer, gardai and the manager of the Lidl store. CCTV from the store showed a man taking the purse from her bag.

Lazar was later noticed by a security guard attempting to put his hand into a jacket belonging to an unknown man which had been draped over a trolley at Dunnes Stores, Donaghmeade Shopping Centre on January 19 this year.

The defendant then left the store, but was followed by the security guard.

Lazar got into a car, before leaving the busy carpark at high speed. The security guard gave a description of the car and its registration to gardai.

The car was identified as a rental and gardai got further information from the rental company.

The court heard Lazar had an address in the United Kingdom, but was staying with a friend in Navan, Co. Meath.

He was arrested and identified himself on CCTV when interviewed.

He accepted he had taken money, but did not recall stealing €5,300. He apologised for his actions and said he felt desperate.

Lazar told gardai he came to Ireland from the UK following the breakdown of his relationship.

He said he had been going through a rough patch and had issues with alcohol.

The court heard Lazar, a Romanian national, has been in custody since his arrest. He has no previous convictions in Ireland, but he has convictions in the UK, Austria and Italy for theft.

Three victim impact statements were handed to the court, but not read aloud.

The investigating garda agreed with Brian Storan BL, defending, that his client demonstrated victim insight during his interview.

It was also accepted by the garda that the High Court has ordered that Lazar be surrendered to the Italian authorities when he is no longer required to serve a sentence here.

Mr Storan told the court his client is facing a sentence of  two years and 11 months in Italy.

He said his client regrets his actions and had written a letter of apology.

His client has three adult children and has been learning English which in custody and working in the kitchen.

Mr Storan acknowledged that his client had taken a “serious amount of money” and these incidents would have had a “significant impact” on the victim.

He suggested his client’s actions were “calculated opportunism”.

Judge Crowe said the aggravating factors include the amount of money taken, the impact on the victims and Lazar’s previous convictions.

She said she took the mitigating features into consideration including his guilty plea, his expressions of remorse and that he is using his time well in prison.