Jonathan Chubb, a former employee of a Dublin letting agency, was found guilty of stealing €8,660 in rent payments from tenants across several properties between July and December 2012. He admitted to taking the money to address his own financial difficulties and claimed he intended to repay it. Chubb had previously been convicted of minor traffic offences. The theft involved redirecting rent payments to his personal bank account instead of the company's account, a scheme uncovered when the agency's receivership firm contacted tenants who had not received funds. Chubb was dismissed from his position and had not repaid any of the money. He pleaded guilty to eleven charges at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Judge Martin Nolan, noting the offence as a form of white‑collar crime, remanded Chubb on continuing bail and adjourned the case to consider whether he might be eligible for community service.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, 34‑year‑old David Brady was sentenced to three years in prison for assault causing harm to Kevin Duggan, who was left with permanent facial scarring after Brady attacked him with a Stanley knife. The incident occurred on 8 March 2013 at The Belfry, Belamine Estate, Stepaside, when Brady, who had been drinking and taking cocaine, entered the apartment of his partner Caroline Kane and, upon hearing Duggan, shouted "I know what you're at" before brandishing the knife. Brady cut Duggan's face, chest and arm. Brady had a prior 2003 conviction for assaulting his girlfriend. Judge Desmond Hogan suspended the final year of the sentence on the condition that Brady keep the peace and participate in a drug and alcohol treatment programme. The court noted that the two couples had regularly socialised together in a pub before the night of the assault. David Brady pleaded guilty.
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, 28‑year‑old James Gallagher was sentenced to two and a half years for stealing a €26,200 Rolex from Weir's Jewellers in Dundrum and for dangerous driving on the M50. Gallagher snatched the watch from a customer, fled in a Volkswagen Golf, and was pursued by Gardaí. During the high‑speed chase he allegedly threw the watch out of a car window near Wesley College, Ballinteer, but a subsequent search failed to recover it. The judge noted Gallagher's actions endangered the public by forcing Gardaí to chase him at speeds over 120 kph on a 50 kph road, breaking red lights and driving the wrong way. Gallagher admitted the theft was to support his crack cocaine habit and is now addressing his drug addiction. The sentence was back‑dated to the date of his arrest. James Gallagher pleaded guilty.
Anthony Harte, 24, of Inchicore, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to violent disorder at Morrisey's Pub in January 2013 and handling three stolen motorbikes in February 2012. Judge Mary Ellen Ring, who had previously adjourned sentencing to assess his suitability for community service, accepted a favourable probation report. She sentenced Harte to two years in prison but ordered him to carry out 220 hours of community service in lieu of custody, to be completed within one year. Richard O'Reilly, 29, also pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods during the same 2012 incident. Judge Ring ordered him to perform 160 hours of community service in lieu of a two-year prison term. Darren Foster, 35, who pleaded guilty to the same handling offence, received a two-year suspended sentence from Judge Ring last July. The court heard that Harte and Foster collected the bikes from a dealership, while O'Reilly assisted with the van. Prosecution evidence alleged Harte punched and kicked a victim during the pub altercation, though the victim and pub manager refused to make formal complaints. Defence counsel noted Harte had ceased drug use and that his prior convictions were for minor offences.
A psychiatric patient has gone on trial at the Central Criminal Court charged with the murder of a fellow patient at Cavan General Hospital's psychiatric unit on 27 June 2011. Ian Harman, aged 50, of Cootehill, Co Cavan, pleaded not guilty to the killing of Michael Treanor, an 82-year-old man suffering from dementia. The prosecution told the jury that Harman approached a nurse that morning and stated he had smothered the deceased with a pillow. The nurse subsequently found Treanor without a pulse, and resuscitation attempts proved unsuccessful. The defence indicated that Harman accepts responsibility for causing Treanor's death and does not dispute the identity of the deceased, but submitted that the focus should remain on the accused's state of mind at the time. Evidence from gardaí and a forensic psychiatrist confirmed Harman's admissions and his fitness for interview. The trial, heard before Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and a jury, is expected to last approximately one week.