A Lurgan man who damaged a G4S tag whilst on bail has been handed a four month prison stay just weeks after being sentenced for shoplifting.
The 30-year-old’s barrister told court: “He has an unenviable record for criminal damage. I think this is his 12th. I think you can read through the lines of why he removed the tag.”
Jamie Geddis, of Dingwell Park, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court, appearing via videolink from Maghaberry.
This came after a second charge which related to the alleged damage of a window frame was withdrawn.
Prosecution outlined that on November 4, 2018, police attended the defendant’s home in relation to an unrelated matter.
When they arrived, officers found that Geddis was not present at the address which was in breach of his court bail.
The defendant was later arrested and found to have damaged a G4S electronic tag.
Defence barrister Conor Lunny stated: “Mr Geddis is a sentence prisoner for a shoplifting offence. He had offered a plea to the damage to the tag on November 29.
“There is little that can be said, he was in breach of bail and a suspended sentence, but I would ask your worship to distinguish from that as it was for a violent offence.”
He continued: “He has an unenviable record for criminal damage. I think this is his 12th. I think you can read through the lines of why he removed the tag.
“He has six weeks left of a sentence which was imposed two weeks ago and I would ask that your worship does not interfere with his release date.”
District Judge Steven Keown stated: “There is going to be some overlap, although this was a plea at an early stage but he was caught red handed.”
Geddis was sentenced to five months in prison for the offence.
