Courts / Dublin / Report

Syringe-wielding robber loses appeal

Date
2019-07-26

Stage
Appeal

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

Christopher Black, 27, pleaded guilty to two robberies and heroin possession in Dublin in late 2016 and early 2017. Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to consecutive terms totalling four‑and‑a‑half years on 6 December 2017. Black's appeal against the severity of that sentence was dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Justice Aileen Donnelly, sitting with Justices George Birmingham and Patrick McCarthy, held that the sentence was not excessive. Donnelly recounted Black's offences: a 2016 robbery of a 65‑year‑old shopkeeper on Glasnaon Road, a drug‑related incident on Amiens Street where he was found with 27 g of heroin, and a 2016 ATM robbery of an 18‑year‑old woman on Camden Street while holding a syringe. She noted Black's 55 prior convictions and long‑standing substance abuse, but said rehabilitation was not a sufficient reason for a suspended portion. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Syringe-wielding robber loses appeal. Charges or matters: two robberies and possession of heroin in the capital on three separate dates in late 2016 and early 2017. Procedural stage: appeal

When:

December 6, 2017 Incident
2019-07-26 Publication

Why: However, not every "entrenched addict" must be given a part suspended sentence in order to aid some "theoretical" rehabilitation. CNI source report

Case subjects

Christopher Black

Appellant

Charges: two robberies and possession of heroin in the capital on three separate dates in late 2016 and early 2017 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Black lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence today, with the Court of Appeal holding that the sentence could not "in any way" be called "excessive". However, not every "entrenched addict" must be given a part suspended sentence in order to aid some "theoretical" rehabilitation.