Knife-wielding burglar who threatened to kill residents has jail term increased

At the Court of Appeal, John McDonagh, aged 27, of Brookfield, Ballinode, Sligo, had his sentence increased following a knife-point home invasion in Sligo Town in January 2020. McDonagh and a teenage accomplice broke into a house at Glencarrig, Ballinode, where they threatened four occupants with knives, demanded money, and caused significant property damage, including slashing furniture and car tyres. They threatened the residents with death if they contacted gardaí. Both men pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and burglary. The Circuit Criminal Court had sentenced them to five-and-a-half years, with two years suspended. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed, arguing the sentence was unduly lenient given the violence, threats, and gratuitous damage involved. Justice Isobel Kennedy agreed, finding the victims had experienced severe psychological trauma. The Court of Appeal quashed the previous sentence and imposed seven years imprisonment, with the final eighteen months suspended for two years, backdated to August 2020.