Convicted killer carried out armed raids after receiving suspended sentence

A man with previous convictions for manslaughter has been imprisoned after carrying out armed raids whilst serving a suspended sentence. Mark Bissett, aged 33, of Swords Road, Dublin 9, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to threatening to burn down the house of a charity worker in May 2016. The threat was made at Central Bank Plaza, Dame Street, during a soup run for homeless people in Dublin city centre. Judge Karen O'Connor had suspended a two-year sentence for this offence in June 2017, cautioning Bissett that he faced imprisonment if he reoffended. Within four months, Bissett carried out armed robberies on two shops in Ranelagh. On 15 October 2017 he wielded a knife during one raid, and on 26 October he used a fork during a pharmacy robbery. Judge O'Connor activated the suspended sentence, imposing the full two-year term. Bissett has sixty previous convictions including manslaughter, assault and public order offences.