Issue Date: 26/1/2021
Gardaí have arrested and charged a man in relation to five theft incidents at churches in Co. Cork.
The matter was reported to Gardaí in Midleton and upon reviewing CCTV footage, a man was seen fishing out envelopes from the church donation box.
As part of the investigation, Gardaí attached to the Midleton Detective Unit carried out a surveillance operation on January 25, 2020 at a church in Carrigtwohill.
When Gardaí went to arrest the man he fled the scene in a car and travelled on the N25. Gardaí pursued from a safe distance until eventually the man stopped the car near the Jack Lynch Tunnel. Upon searching the man and the car, Gardaí found a wire hook similar to the one seen in the CCTV footage.
The man, aged in his 50s, was arrested and brought to Cobh Garda Station. He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 and has since been charged.
He is due to appear before Mallow District Court this morning at 10.30am.
Dates of each of the five theft incidents are as follows:
Carrigtwohill on the 23 and 24 January 2021
Dungarvan on the 15 January 2021
Cloyne on 23 January 2021
Shanagarry on the 21 November 2020
