A man who spontaneously admitted to gardaí he was involved in a burglary, could not recall where it had taken place, a court heard on Wednesday.

Garda Brian Hunt, of Store Street Garda Station, said Michael Alexis (53) had presented “in a bad way physically and mentally” and “alluded” to having been involved in a burglary a day earlier.

Alexis was not sure where it had taken place, but using the information given to them gardaí were able to retrieve stolen electrical equipment, the court was told. They found only one burglary had been reported the previous day and were able to return the items to their owners.

Alexis, of Fonthill Cottages, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary at The Gasworks Apartments, Dublin 4 on September 25th, 2015. He has nine previous convictions in the District Court, including theft and drugs offences.

The court heard the burglary occurred between 9.30am and 11am in the morning while the residents were out. They returned to find the apartment ransacked and some property missing including four laptops, a tablet and an iPad mini.

The following day, Alexis attended at Store Street station in a “distressed state” and told gardaí he had been involved in a burglary where a large amount of electrical equipment was taken, the court heard. He was able to say the property had been taken to a premises on Moore Street.

Alexis was initially sectioned under the Mental Health Act, but was interviewed by gardaí the following month. He told gardaí he had not known about the burglary in advance and the individual he was with had a key. He said his role was a lookout and he had “drank” the €200 he received.

Defence counsel told the court Alexis, originally from Grenada, had trained as a chef and had a strong work history which included a number of “well known establishments.”

While working in Toronto Alexis met and married an Irish woman. He came to Ireland, but after this relationship and a subsequent one broke down, Alexis began having issues with alcohol abuse.

Counsel said Alexis wishes to work again and submitted his client was someone who was turning a corner. He asked the court to take into account his personal circumstances and his admissions, without which there would be no case against him.