2015-07-30 · Dublin
Dumbrell jailed for three years over high speed car chase in Dublin city centre
Leonard Dumbrell, aged 26, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for leading Gardaí on a high‑speed chase through Dublin city centre in a stolen car. He stole the vehicle in Ballsbridge, drove it at speed and in the wrong direction, nearly knocking over pedestrians on O'Connell Bridge before crashing it at Temple Bar Square. The court noted he had 108 previous convictions, including car thefts, assaulting a Garda and violent disorder, and that he had previously been allowed out on bail for drug treatment but failed to appear. Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed concurrent sentences totalling three years, ordered that time already spent in custody be taken into account, and disqualified him from driving for five years. The case was heard in the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the court considered the evidence of the chase and the subsequent crash. Leonard Dumbrell pleaded guilty.