Courts / Dublin / Report

Criminal jailed after high-speed pursuit left garda with serious injuries

Date
2020-05-27

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Tallaght

County
Dublin

Summary

Thomas Stokes, aged 30, was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for a high‑speed pursuit that left Garda Thomas Bialkowski seriously injured. Stokes pleaded guilty to two counts of endangerment, one count of assaulting Garda Bialkowski, one count of dangerous driving, and a separate count of criminal damage. The judge imposed four‑and‑a‑half years for endangerment and two‑and‑a‑half years for criminal damage, to run consecutively, giving an effective term of seven years. The final two years were suspended on strict conditions. The pursuit began when Gardaí approached Stokes' car at Dublin Port; after a brief attempt to stop him, Stokes fled, driving at up to 180 km/h, swerving across lanes, and eventually crashing into a wall on Cookstown Way, Tallaght. The crash caused the Garda's firearm butt to strike him, injuring his teeth, eye, arm and shoulder.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Criminal jailed after high-speed pursuit left garda with serious injuries. Charges or matters: two counts of endangerment, one count of assaulting Gda Bialkowski and one count of dangerous driving at Promenade Road, Dublin Port and Cookstown Way, Tallaght; one count of criminal damage in relation to a separate incident at Limekiln Green, Crumlin six years ago, on October 10, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

December 29, 2018 Other
October 10, 2014 Incident
December 2018 Incident
2020-05-27 Publication

Case subjects

Thomas Stokes

Defendant

Charges: two counts of endangerment, one count of assaulting Gda Bialkowski and one count of dangerous driving at Promenade Road, Dublin Port and Cookstown Way, Tallaght; one count of criminal damage in relation to a separate incident at Limekiln Green, Crumlin six years ago, on October 10, 2014 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Judge O'Connor sentenced Stokes to four-and-a-half years imprisonment for the offence of endangerment. She also sentenced him to two-and-a-half years imprisonment for the earlier offence of criminal damage.