Man with 266 previous convictions charged with ten burglaries of Derry businesses

A man with 266 previous convictions has been refused bail at Derry Magistrate's Court today charged with ten burglaries of local business premises.

John McGilloway (42) whose address was given as Maghaberry Prison faces a total of 10 charges of burglaries in a garage, a laundromat and eight restaurants or fast food outlets on dates between February 19 2023 and December 9 2024.

A police officer opposed the bail application and said they believed McGilloway was responsible for 15 burglaries in the city in 2023 and 2024.

He added that most of the burglaries followed the same pattern with tills being ransacked and money taken.

The officer said that DNA linking McGilloway to some of the burglaries had been recovered and also there was CCTV evidence. 

The court heard that the defendant had admitted one burglary at Guapo on the Strand Road on December 9 2024.

The officer told the court that McGilloway had 75 previous convictions for burglary and had previously completely disregarded bail conditions. 

He said that the burglaries had impacted on numerous small businesses across the city and police believed if released McGilloway would re-offend as he usually carried out his activities after dark.

Defence solicitor Paddy MacDermott said that the defendant had been recalled on licence but was now due for release.

He said that there had been a substantial delay in this case and it could be into next year before there is progress in the case. 

District Judge Conor Heaney said that the defence case had been set out clearly but he had no confidence McGilloway would adhere to conditions and refused the application. 

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McGilloway was remanded in continuing custody to appear again on September 11.