2017-02-27 · Limerick
Serial burglar gets extra year in jail after DPP appeal over suspended sentences
Colin Culhane, 35, of Courtbrack Accommodation, Limerick, pleaded guilty to eight burglary counts committed over an eight‑month period in 2014. At the Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on 1 October 2015, Judge Tom O'Donnell imposed concurrent five‑year sentences for counts 1‑6 and wholly suspended consecutive two‑year terms for counts 7‑8. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was "unduly lenient". In a fresh hearing, a three‑judge court, led by Mr Justice John Edwards, found that the original judge erred by suspending the entire consecutive two‑year terms. The Court of Appeal re‑sentenced Culhane to three years' imprisonment, with the final two years suspended, and required him to serve an additional year in custody consecutive to the five‑year sentences for the first six counts. The decision was based on the policy that offences committed while on bail should attract consecutive sentences involving actual custody.