Stole meat due to his drug addiction

Michal Hanko, whose address was given as Clonavon Avenue, Portadown, appeared in court by way of videolink from Maghaberry prison and admitted the theft of meat valued at £72.44 from Tescos on February 10, 2015.

He was sentenced to three months in prison to run concurrently with the sentence he is serving.

The court heard he was seen leaving Tescos in Lurgan without paying for meat.

He was challenged and he left his trolley before getting into a vehicle as a passenger.

When he was interviewed he made a full admission citing drug addiction as the reason for the theft.

Mr Conor Downey, representing the defendant, said that a number of suspended sentences had been activated and although they had been appealed the appeal had been withdrawn on the morning of the hearing.

He added that his client was due for release on October 3 and asked the court to deal with the matter in a way that did not affect that release date.

Deputy District Judge Browne asked if Hanko had addressed his heroin issues.

Mr Downey said that there had been a tapering off in this sort of activity and Hanko’s complexion and demeanour was now much better.

He added that the defendant had been attending the addictions clinic in Craigavon to wean himself off the addiction.