A man has been jailed for two and a half years for carrying out a spate of burglaries in Tralee last August.
44-year-old Michael Coffey, previously of 32 Cnoc Gorm Tralee, was sentenced at Tralee Circuit Court by Judge Ronan Munro this afternoon.
The judge suspended a portion of Mr Coffey’s sentence, telling him the safest thing for the people of Kerry would be for him to get a job.
On 3rd August last year, Mr Coffey entered a house which had been left unlocked, with another man, and took cash to the value of €2,500.
Judge Ronan Munro said the other man remains unidentified.
Mr Coffey continued his offending on the 6th and 7th August.
At 10:30pm on the 6th, a 70-year-old man came face to face with Mr Coffey in his kitchen when he went to check a noise he heard.
Judge Munro praised the bravery of the 70-year-old man, who ran straight towards Michael Coffey; Mr Coffey fled.
Judge Munro said this didn’t put Mr Coffey off from his night of crime, and he again entered more houses, including that of a woman in her 80s who happened upon him in her house at 1:30am.
Mr Coffey was rummaging through coats and then left when the woman’s son came downstairs.
He was then seen going from car to car at the Brandon Car Park taking whatever items he could, before he was arrested.
Judge Munro said Mr Coffey has a bad record of fairly consistent offending, and he committed these offences having just been released from prison after a five-year sentence.
Defending barrister Katie O’Connell said Mr Coffey is engaging with services in prison and is working towards getting a job.
Judge Munro jailed him for five years, but suspended two and a half years on conditions, including that he engage with education services to work towards employment.
Speaking to Mr Coffey, the judge said, “The best thing for the people of Kerry is for you to go and get a job.”
