A FORMER garda faces up to 10 years in prison for stealing thousands of euro from his colleagues and from an 82-year-old woman.

David Foran (29) responded to a burglary at the elderly woman’s home and found she had hidden nearly €2,000 in her bedroom. He later returned to steal the cash. He also collected money from his Garda colleagues to organise events which he then used to pay his own debts.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard Foran was nearly half a million euro in debt because of a house he had built with his new wife. He had been dismissed from the Garda and his marriage had ended.

After hearing the evidence, Judge Yvonne Murphy adjourned the matter until January but warned she was “making no promises”. She called it an unsophisticated crime but noted he had repaid all the stolen money.

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