A father saw his own daughter on Facebook trying to steal from a Belfast flat and contacted police.
There was a confrontation with the occupant after Laura Cochrane (35) broke into the apartment.
Part of the incident was recorded by the occupant and after it appeared on Facebook, Cochrane’s father contacted the PSNI and said it was his daughter in the footage.
Cochrane admitted a charge of burglary with intent to steal and was handed a combination order consisting of 80 hours community service and two years probation.
From Upper Dunmurry Close, she was sentenced at Belfast Crown Court by Judge Gordon Kerr KC on Friday.
The court heard that just after midnight on August 3 last year, the occupant of an apartment at Caffrey Park in west Belfast was woken from her sleep by a noise in her kitchen.
She got out of bed and found Cochrane standing in her kitchen. Following a struggle between the two women, Cochrane climbed out of a window and fled the scene in a blue Honda Civic.
The occupant was able to record Cochrane exiting her apartment via the window.
She also noticed that a number of her items had been packed into a bag which was left outside the window.
The video of Cochrane recorded by the occupant was posted on Facebook and on the afternoon of August 4, Cochrane’s father contacted the PSNI to say it was his daughter in the footage.
Later that evening, officers went to Cochrane’s address. A Honda Civic was parked outside and she was arrested.
Judge Kerr said that Cochrane told a Probation Officer she was misusing Diazepam at the time to cope with anxiety and couldn’t explain why she did what she did.
Citing the offence being committed “during night-time hours” and the confrontation as aggravating factors, Judge Kerr said it would have been an “extremely unsettling” experience for the occupant.
He added that the burglary appeared to be a “one-off incident”, that nothing was actually stolen and that Cochrane has accepted the seriousness of her actions and expressed remorse for what she did.
Judge Kerr imposed the combination order and told Cochrane: “I want to make it absolutely clear to you that this is a chance which I am giving you.
“You should be going to prison for this offending and if you either do not satisfactory do your community service or if you do not obey and accept the instructions you are given by the Probation Service, then if the matter is brought before me that’s exactly what will happen.”
by Portal_Jumper125
8 comments
Touts out
Your da’s a tout
35? That explains it, that’s a da that has been dealing with his daughter’s bullshit for years.
Based
Just.a Father trying to get her help
One off incident my arse. The Dad knows.
“*Cochrane told a Probation Officer she was misusing Diazepam at the time to cope with anxiety and couldn’t explain why she did what she did.*”
I can, to pay for more.
She surely should be sent to a drug rehabilitation clinic, or along with practical no mental health service, do we not have those either?
In USA, in the correct State, that home invasion is brought to a swift end without any struggle and there’s no need for a court case.
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