Man to be sentenced over serial iPhone theft

A 28-year-old man from Tallaght has pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to his involvement in the theft of five iPhones from mobile phone stores across the country between November 2015. Viorel Rostas admitted to taking part in robberies at outlets in Navan, Cavan, Letterkenny, Tralee, and Killarney over a five-day period, with the stolen handsets valued at over €3,500. During each incident, Rostas acted as a distraction or obstructed attempts to prevent the thefts while accomplices removed the phones. The robberies occurred during business hours and were recorded on store CCTV; none of the phones were recovered. Detective Garda evidence indicated Rostas was part of a group of four involved in the thefts. The defence outlined that Rostas took a €10,000 loan to finance his mother's funeral in Romania following her death in July 2015, subsequently agreeing to participate in the robberies due to pressure from the lender. Rostas, who has lived in Ireland over twenty years, has seventy-one previous convictions. Judge John Aylmer adjourned the case for sentencing on 24 July.