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Would-be robber terrified pregnant shop worker with crowbar
Summary
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court sentenced Dubliner Jason Spooner to four and a half years in prison for the attempted robbery of cigarettes valued at €300 and possessing a crowbar to intimidate staff at a Centra store in Finglas on February 25, 2017. Spooner, of Ballymun, pleaded guilty to the charges. Judge Karen O'Connor imposed the sentence with the final 18 months suspended, reducing a headline six-year term due to mitigating factors, including the death of Spooner's father. The judge noted that Spooner's guilty plea, entered a week before trial, was diluted by its late timing. The court heard that Spooner, wearing a balaclava, entered the shop, locked the doors, and threatened a five-months-pregnant employee with the crowbar, demanding she open the safe. Although the victim fled to a back office, Spooner attempted to force entry and began loading cigarettes into a bag. He was arrested by Sergeant Conor Scully after threatening the garda with the weapon. Spooner told gardaí he had taken pills and intended to steal cigarettes. The judge acknowledged the ongoing fear experienced by the victim and noted Spooner's history of addiction and 16 previous convictions. Spooner's solicitor conveyed his client's apologies to the victim.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Would-be robber terrified pregnant shop worker with crowbar. Charges or matters: the attempted robbery of cigarettes to the value of €300 and having a crowbar to incapacitate or intimidate staff at Centra, Hamptonwood, Finglas on February 25, 2017. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- February 25, 2017 Hearing Or Sentence
- 2019-05-30 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: the attempted robbery of cigarettes to the value of €300 and having a crowbar to incapacitate or intimidate staff at Centra, Hamptonwood, Finglas on February 25, 2017 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge O'Connor sentenced Spooner to four and a half years in prison, with the final 18 months suspended. She had set a headline sentence of six years but reduced this on account of mitigating factors including the death of Spooner's father.
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