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26 Feb 2026

Derry man charged with stealing around £1,000 from elderly 'vulnerable' man

John Coyle (55) of Lisnavar Court in Derry faces two charges one of the theft of a wallet and £1,000 and one of fraud by false representation in that a stolen bank card was used to secure items

Rowdy scenes at Derry Magistrate's Court as anti lock down protesters disrupted proceedings

Derry Magistrates' Court

Reporter:

Court Reporter

26 Feb 2026 11:30 AM

Email:

news@derrynow.com

A man has appeared at Derry Magistrates' Court charged with stealing around £1,000 from an elderly 'vulnerable' man.
John Coyle (55) of Lisnavar Court in Derry faces two charges one of the theft of a wallet and £1,000 and one of fraud by false representation in that a stolen bank card was used to secure items.
The offences were said to have occurred between February 23 and February 25, 2026.
A police officer connected the accused to the charges and opposed bail. 
He told the court that police were called to an assisted living complex after a 75-year-old vulnerable man realised his wallet was missing. 
Staff reviewed CCTV and saw two females and a male, the defendant, going through clothes belonging to the injured party in the laundry room of the complex.
One of the females was said to have found the wallet and handed it to Coyle who took money from it and gave some to the females before leaving with the wallet. 
When police spoke to the elderly man his family discovered that there had been transactions on the account amounting to £932.17 and other transactions online.
When police went to Coyle's address the wallet and stolen bank card were found on a sofa.
Coyle made full admissions and said he was sorry and intended to pay it back.
Bail was opposed due to the fact Coyle has 78 previous convictions and is currently on probation for a theft charge imposed in January of this year.
Defence solicitor Paddy MacDermott said that his client had made full admissions and was almost 'caught in the act'.
He said police still had to speak to the two females so the case could take some time and with the potential delay he asked for his client to be released on bail. 
District Judge Oonagh Mullan said Coyle was not a suitable candidate for bail and remanded him in custody to appear again on March 26.

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