2014-07-17 · Carlow
"Crime tourists" who carried out armed robbery on jewellery shop have jail time reduced on appeal
In July 2012, three Lithuanian men – Edgaras Jurosiuniuys (24), Liutauras Meskauskas (27) and Andrius Bareikis (33) – carried out an armed robbery at Bramleys jewellers in Carlow. They entered with lump hammers, pepper spray and imitation hand guns, stole jewellery worth about €20,000 and fled in a Fiat Punto. The owner, Pat Bramley, was sprayed with pepper gas during the raid. The men were arrested shortly after and the stolen items were recovered near the motorway to Dublin. Judge Teehan sentenced Jurosiuniuys to five years for robbery and two years for assault, to run consecutively, and Meskauskas and Bareikis to seven years each. On appeal, the Criminal Court of Appeal reduced Jurosiuniuys's robbery term by one year and made it run concurrently with the assault term, giving him one year less in jail. Meskauskas and Bareikis each had one year cut from their seven‑year sentences. No portion of any sentence was suspended.