A man who successfully broke into two houses in Co Armagh to steal car keys has been jailed.
Michael John Maughan, of no-fixed-abode, Newry, was under the influence of alcohol when he managed to steal two vehicles – one in Portadown and one in Darkley.
The 48-year-old appeared before Armagh Magistrates’ Court, sitting at Newry Courthouse on Tuesday, charged with a number of offences, including two counts of burglary with intent to steal and two counts of aggravated taking and causing damage to a vehicle.
He was also charged with driving with excess alcohol in breath, alongside a raft of other motoring offences.
The court heard that on Sunday, June 9, 2024, at around 5.30pm, police received a report from the occupants of a property on the Tandragee Road in Portadown, to say they had been burgled.
The reporting person stated he had been watching TV in the house with his wife and daughter when they heard the back door open, and close shortly after.
He believed that his older daughter had come into the property to get something before leaving again.
He then went to the kitchen and noticed the back gate to the property was open, believing his daughter had forgotten to close it.
At this point he realised his vehicle was no longer parked at the back of the house, and noticed that the keys, alongside a handbag, had been taken from the bench in the kitchen.
Police conducted CCTV checks in the area and attended a local garage, where the manager showed them footage of the incident.
In the footage, a male appears to enter a Chinese takeaway on Thomas Street, before looking in the window of a number of vehicles.
He then walked down the Annagh Hill Road, behind the Tandragee Road, before entering the back garden of a property.
He emerged moments later holding a bag. He then appeared on the footage again without the bag, walked down the road a short distance, before heading back into the rear of the garden.
He can be seen moving around parked vehicles before getting into a Ford Focus and driving off.
In the handbag was a phone, a small sum of cash, and a driving licence.
At approximately 8.30pm that evening, the occupants of a property on the Tullynawood Road in Darkley contacted police to state their vehicle had been stolen.
On arrival, police found a Ford Focus, matching the description of the previous theft, parked in the driveway.
The vehicle had a flat tyre and minor damage.
On viewing CCTV footage, police established that the stolen Focus had been parked outside the property. The driver then stole the keys to a Toyota vehicle and drove off.
The court was told that Maughan returned an alcohol reading of 73 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit in Northern Ireland is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
A defence lawyer speaking on Maughan’s behalf explained that his client, who was pleading guilty, had been in custody sine June 2024.
He said that Maughan has a “very difficult” personal background, suffering from mental health issues and drugs and alcohol addiction, alongside a number of recent bereavements.
He added that Maughan was “highly intoxicated” on the date of the incidents, and had little recollection of what happened.
Maughan, who has family in England, intended to return upon his release and “put this episode behind him”.
District Judge Anne Marshall described the incident as “very serious offending”.
She said: “I’m somewhat surprised to see domestic burglaries like this in this court and wonder why consideration wasn’t given to taking him to the crown court.”
Judge Marshall activated a previous suspended sentence, making a total sentence of 15 months in custody.
He was also disqualified from driving for two years.
