Courts / Dublin / Report

Serial offender is jailed for church burglary

Date
2017-11-07

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

A Dublin man, Robert Hedderman, aged 33, pleaded guilty to two burglaries. The first was at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel on Bachelor's Walk, Dublin 1, on 7 October 2016. He smashed a glass security panel to enter and was later confronted by a church volunteer who took him to the parish priest and called the police. Garda Michael O'Donnell found a screwdriver, scissors and many keys on him. While on bail, he committed a second burglary at the Irish Whiskey Museum on Grafton Street on 9 December 2016. CCTV showed him smashing two windows and stealing €300 in cash, merchandise and a laptop, causing the museum a €5,273 loss. He has 40 prior convictions, eight for burglary. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to two years for the chapel burglary and 18 months for the museum burglary, with the final year suspended, giving a total of two and a half years in prison.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Serial offender is jailed for church burglary. Charges or matters: burglary at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel on Bachelor's Walk, Dublin 1 on October 7, 2016; burglary at the Irish Whiskey Museum on Grafton Street Lower, Dublin on December 9, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

October 7, 2016 Incident
December 9, 2016 Incident
2017-11-07 Publication

Why: Garda Michael O'Donnell told the court today that Hedderman smashed a glass security panel in a door in order to gain entry to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. CNI source report

Case subjects

Robert Hedderman

Defendant

Charges: burglary at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel on Bachelor's Walk, Dublin 1 on October 7, 2016; burglary at the Irish Whiskey Museum on Grafton Street Lower, Dublin on December 9, 2016 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: He sentenced him to two years in prison for the burglary at The Blessed Sacrament Chapel, and 18 months for the burglary at The Irish Whiskey Museum, with the final year suspended. The sentences will run consecutively, meaning Hedderman was jailed for two and a half years. "His sentence would have been considerably more if there had been any hint of hostility or violence during the burglaries," Judge Nolan remarked.