Courts / Cork / Report
Autistic medical school drop-out who phoned in hoax bomb threats avoids jail
Summary
Colin Joyce, 36, an autistic medical‑school drop‑out, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on 21 March 2017. He pleaded guilty to three counts of providing false information about bomb threats made between February and April 2015, and to reckless damage to the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) on 1 July 2015. The threats were directed at the Criminal Courts of Justice, St Patrick's Psychiatric Hospital and the Civic Offices at Wood Quay. Joyce had previously been given a three‑year suspended sentence in February 2015 for sending harassing letters to former supervisors at RCSI. Judge Martin Nolan, hearing the case, suspended a new three‑year sentence on strict conditions: Joyce must be supervised by the Probation Service, attend medical appointments, take prescribed medication, and abstain from alcohol. The court noted that Joyce had caused €2,861 of damage to RCSI when he threw paint over the front door and smashed several windows in July 2015.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Autistic medical school drop-out who phoned in hoax bomb threats avoids jail. Charges or matters: three charges of providing false information on dates between February and April 2015; reckless damage to RCSI on July 1, 2015. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- February 2015 Hearing Or Sentence
- November 2015 Adjournment
- April 2015 Adjournment
- July 1, 2015 Adjournment
- 2017-03-21 Publication
Why: He had sent threatening letters to ten of his past supervisors and tutors at the Royal College of Surgeons because he was angry he had been refused re-admission to allow him to complete his medical degree. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: three charges of providing false information on dates between February and April 2015; reckless damage to RCSI on July 1, 2015 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Colin Joyce (36) of Carrigrohane Road, Cork, was given a three-year suspended sentence in February 2015. Judge Nolan said that it was clear that Joyce was previously unable to adhere to the conditions of the suspended sentence he handed down in February 2015. "Once he gets an idea into his head it is very difficult to shift.; He appeared again before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court and Judge Nolan in November 2015 and was remanded in custody after the court heard evidence that he had since phoned in bomb threats to the Criminal Courts of Justice, St Patrick's Psychiatric Hospital and the Civic Offices at Wood Quay, Dublin.
Places mentioned
- Carrigrohane Road
- Cork
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- St Patrick's Psychiatric Hospital
- St Patrick's Hospital
Topics
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