Kildare Village theft man 'had pepper spray because he'd been stabbed'

A man found with pepper spray after being searched told gardaí he had it in his possession because he had been assaulted.

Mohamed Akrouf, 31, whose address was given as 60 Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin 6, was prosecuted in relation to the theft of property from the Ralph Lauren shop at Kildare Village as well as  wireless earphones from Tesco, Monasterevin Road, Kildare town, on July 7, 2024. He was found with the pepper spray at Priory Court, Kildare town.

Garda Danny O’Shea told the court that the items had a value of about €200.

Defending barrister Aisling Murphy told Naas District Court that the defendant was serving a sentence for assault and he has a release date in February 2025.

She also stated that the man is originally from Algeria and he came to Ireland in 2022.

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Ms Murphy told the court that he had the pepper spray for his own protection and he had shown a stabbing injury he had sustained to the gardaí. His torso was injured in this incident. She said a person is in custody for this alleged incident.

Ms Murphy told the court that when the defendant arrived here he could not work and could not claim social welfare payments.

The court was further told that he made admissions at the scene and the goods were recovered in saleable condition.

Judge Desmond Zaidan imposed a nine months term for the theft at the Ralph Lauren shop and the Tesco incident was taken into account. A concurrent three months term was imposed for possessing the pepper spray