Courts / Dublin / Report

Dangerous driver acquitted of attacking garda gets prison sentence

Date
2020-09-11

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin City

County
Dublin

Summary

At the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Jonathan Coelho (29) was sentenced to 20 months in prison for four counts of dangerous driving, one count of endangering pedestrians, and one count of driving without insurance on July 31, 2019. Coelho had previously pleaded guilty to these charges and admitted to driving at speed through red lights and in the wrong direction in Dublin city centre before crashing into a lamp post. The court heard that Coelho was disqualified from driving in the UK at the time of the incident. Judge Melanie Greally backdated the sentence to account for the time Coelho had spent in custody since his arrest in July 2022. Coelho was acquitted of charges of endangering and assaulting Garda Conor Murray, following a jury's not guilty verdict. His co-accused, Federico Carvalho (31), pleaded not guilty to the same charges and was not sentenced. Coelho's legal representative highlighted his recent cancer diagnosis and requested the sentence be suspended to allow him to return to Italy for treatment. The judge noted that Coelho posed a risk to pedestrians and road users and paid tribute to the gardaí for their efforts in stopping the dangerous driving. The matter was concluded at the sentence stage.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Dangerous driver acquitted of attacking garda gets prison sentence. Charges or matters: four counts of dangerous driving, one count of endangering pedestrians and one count of driving without insurance on the night in question; charges of assault causing harm to Gda Murray of July 31, 2019 at St Lukes' Avenue, Dublin 8. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

July 31, 2019 Incident
2020-09-11 Publication

Why: Coelho later told gardaí that he did not stop the car because he had no insurance. CNI source report

Case subjects

Federico Carvalho

Co Accused

Charges: four counts of dangerous driving, one count of endangering pedestrians and one count of driving without insurance on the night in question; charges of assault causing harm to Gda Murray of July 31, 2019 at St Lukes' Avenue, Dublin 8 (Alleged Or Contested)

Plea: Not guilty

Jonathan Coelho

Accused

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Today the court heard that Coelho was disqualified from driving in the UK at the time of the Dublin city incident. Sentencing Coelho today, Judge Melanie Greally backdated the sentence to take into account the time he has spent in custody since his arrest in July last year.