Accountant (36) stole clothes from Arnotts in “Moment of Madness”

An accountant had a “mad moment” when he stole hundreds of dollars worth of designer clothes he could have afforded.

lvaro Miguelena, 36, suffered from insomnia due to back pain and was “at rock bottom” when he committed two “irrational” thefts in the same shop.

Miguelena, of Spain, who lives at Frederick Street North, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty.

Judge John Brennan scrapped the case, leaving him with no criminal record.

Dublin District Court heard that Gardaí received a report last June 7th that items had been stolen from Arnotts, Henry Street that day and May 9th.

The value of the stolen clothing was €570 and €120.

Miguelena had taken items from the shelves and entered the dressing rooms.

He was seen leaving with no clothes on, and security personnel found only tags in the dressing room after his departure.

When he was stopped, the clothes were in his backpack. Only the items taken on June 7 were recovered.

He had no criminal record.

The defendant “was into designer stuff,” Judge Brennan stated.

Working full-time, Miguelena was “at a loss” to understand why he was doing what he was doing.

He had sued the court for 600 euros as compensation for the outstanding items.

Judge Brennan said the defendant could have paid for the goods and he assumed it was a moment of insanity on his part.