A woman with 443 previous convictions, and who is the niece of unsuccessful local election candidate Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch, has appeared before Dublin District Court on theft charges before Judge Michele Finan.
Donna Hutch (52), who has an address in the North Inner City, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft in respect of goods she stole from two shops.
On the 11th of July last Garda Eugenio Spedicato arrested Hutch after she entered a Penny’s branch and proceeded to take €79 worth of goods, passing all points of payment.
Of her 443 previous convictions 224 are for theft and 34 are for possession of stolen property.
Hutch was also charged in relation to the taking of €43 worth of goods from SuperValu on Camden Street, again making no attempt to pay, and passing all points of payment whereupon she was stopped by security guards, before being arrested by Garda Sean Mullen.
On another date at 2:50am on Aston Quay, Hutch was found in possession of an iPhone 15, with a value of €900, for which she was unable to provide proof of purchase.
She was arrested and conveyed to a Garda Station where she was charged with possession of stolen property.
The court heard that Hutch’s latest conviction dates from the 12th of December 2023 where she was charged with 6 counts of theft, possession of stolen property, and intoxication.
Judge Finan remarked that the accused has “a phenomenal number of previous convictions.”
Her offending is driven by an addiction to crack cocaine, the court heard, with Judge Finan agreeing that her “drug addiction is the causal factor” in her continued offending.
The accused was remanded in custody for the preparation of a probation report to appear by video link on the 14th of August next.
Ms. Hutch addressed Judge Finan asking, “Will you be here?” to which the court replied, “No.”
The full facts of her offending are to be heard on that date.