Pair using Romanian translator who were due in court on theft charges 'have fled Ballymena due to riot fears'
A couple have fled Ballymena “due to safety concerns,” a court heard today.
Nicolae Lacatus (44) and his 45-year-old wife Gabriela Lacatus were due to attend Ballymena Magistrates Court to give their attitude to criminal charges but defence counsel Thomas McKeever confirmed “they have left due to safety concerns.”
“There will be guilty pleas,” the barrister told the court.
The couple, from Larne Street in the town, are jointly charged on counts of theft and going equipped for theft on 9 February this year.
The theft charge discloses they allegedly stole “six pairs of mens trainers, two whole salamis, two coffee jars and cheese triangles” worth a total value of £115 from Lidl.
The air are further accused of going equipped with theft by having “a black holdall hidden inside a shopping bag.”
District Judge Nigel Broderick asked why, if the pair’s solicitor knew they had fled, the court had not been alerted so that the Romanian interpreter could have been cancelled.
“They’re here at public expense for no purpose,” the judge lamented.
Adjourning the case to 3 July, he warned that if the couple do nit attend, “they run the risk of a warrant being issued for their arrest.” Ends