Robber rumbled after DNA found on juicebox

Gareth Hamilton, aged 26, from Drumconnick, County Cavan, was sentenced to three years imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court following his guilty plea to robbery at an Applegreen Service Station in Inchicore on 28 November 2018. Gardaí identified Hamilton after discovering his DNA and fingerprints on a juice box he consumed inside the premises during the incident. Hamilton entered the service station, requested cigarettes, then produced a box cutter and took €350 from the till before leaving with the money and cigarettes. The court heard Hamilton had previous convictions for attempted robbery, burglary, and possession of stolen property, all committed within a finite period in 2018 and 2019. He was on bail at the time of the offence. Judge Melanie Greally noted Hamilton had secured employment on his father's farm and expressed potential for rehabilitation should he address his drug dependency. The sentence is to run consecutively to a sentence already being served, ending 14 November next.