By Sonya McLean
A man who stole over €20,000 worth of electronic goods from the shop he worked in and was separately found with €12,000 of cannabis has been jailed for two years.
Aaron Myler (27) of Johnstown Park, Ballygall Road, Dublin 11, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two theft charges from Power City, Finglas, on dates between November 21, 2019 and December 19, 2019. The pleas were accepted on the basis that they represented sample charges before the court.
He further pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis for sale or supply on October 30, 2022.
Imposing sentence, Judge Orla Crowe noted that the court was previously told that his brother had run up drug debts and Myler “was ordered to effectively steal to order to repay that debt”.
The judge said this was offered to the court as an explanation and “certainly was not an excuse for stealing from a trusted employer who is still at a loss”.
She noted the “considerable” breach of trust and the persistent nature of the offending as aggravating factors in relation to the thefts.
She said that Myler was “actively involved” in drugs dealing and was on bail for the theft charges at the time.
Having considered the mitigation and Myler’s family circumstances, she imposed an 18-month sentence on the theft charges and a consecutive two-year sentence on the drugs charge.
Judge Crowe suspended the final 18 months of the total three-and-a-half-year sentence on strict conditions for two years. She directed Myler to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 12 months post-release.
Garda Stephen Kelly previously told Aideen Collard BL, prosecuting, that Myler was a warehouse operator with Power City for a year at the time of the thefts. He had access to the necessary keys and codes for the stores as part of his role and had been placed in “a position of trust”.
On December 22, 2019, the operations manager with Power City contacted gardaí after it was noticed there was “a substantial difference between the actual stock and the stock on the system”.
The manager had viewed CCTV footage from the shop, and Myler could be clearly seen entering the secure lockup, removing various items, boxing them up and leaving them by the back gate at the goods entrance of the shop. A short time later, a vehicle pulled up and picked up the boxes.
It was discovered that Myler had done this on seven occasions in that month.
Gda Kelly said when the manager approached Myler and asked him for clarification on what he could be seen doing on the CCTV footage, he replied, “I may as well go. You are going to sack me,” before he ran out of the premises and never returned to work.
Ms Collard outlined that a washing machine, multiple laptops, multiple tablets, a Bluetooth speaker, a Dyson heater, Dyson wands, Dyson vacuums, Apple iPods, smart watches, smart phones, a games console, security cameras, televisions, dash cams, a Henry Hoover, a coffee maker and multiple shavers were stolen by Myler over that time.
The total value of the items stolen was €20,666.50. None of the goods was recovered, and no victim impact statement was submitted to the court. It was indicated to the court that Power City’s insurance did not cover its losses.
Myler attended at a garda station in January 2020 and was interviewed. He was remanded on bail, but a warrant was taken in July 2024 when he was due to be sentenced. Gardai executed this warrant on April 7 last, and he has been in custody since.
Gda Kelly accepted that Myler claimed that he was ordered by others to steal these items because at the time his brother had run up a drug debt. His brother has since died.
The court heard that Myler was also caught with €12,232 worth of cannabis in the home he shared with his father on October 30, 2022.
A warrant had been secured to search the flat after Myler had been identified as someone who was actively engaging in the sale of drugs.
A phone seized during the search was analysed and found to have text messages linked to drug dealing.
Luigi Rea BL, defending, said that his client’s brother, who had the drug debt, died in September 2023 and his father died in October 2024. Myler has been assisting in helping the family care for his brother’s young child since his death.
Imposing sentence, Judge Crowe noted that Myler told the Probation Service that the drugs debt had been repaid. She said that avoiding bench warrants, not appearing in court while paying off a drugs debt “does not commend itself”, adding it exacerbated the problems he faced.
She backdated the sentence to last April, when Myler went into custody.