Courts / Meath / Report

Driver of stolen car gets four years after putting "fear of god" into plane spotters

Date
2015-01-26

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Navan

County
Meath

Summary

A 22‑year‑old Meath man, Graham McGuinness, was sentenced to four years in prison for driving a stolen car into a crowded viewing area at Dublin Airport. He pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a car and a second charge of dangerous driving. McGuinness, who had been disqualified from driving for ten years, drove recklessly up an embankment, jumped out of the moving car, and caused a large crowd of plane‑spotters to scatter. The judge, Martin Nolan, noted that McGuinness had "put the fear of God" into bystanders and suspended the final year of the sentence, citing his youth and potential for rehabilitation. McGuinness had 41 prior convictions, including criminal damage, theft, burglary, drug offences and threats to kill, and had struggled with alcohol and drugs. The court heard he had been in care from age 12 to 17 and had a very difficult, unsettled life with little stability.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Driver of stolen car gets four years after putting "fear of god" into plane spotters. Charges or matters: the unlawful use of a car at Collinstown Lane, Ballymun on July 7 last year. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

July 7 Incident
2015-01-26 Publication

Case subjects

Graham McGuinness

Defendant

Charges: the unlawful use of a car at Collinstown Lane, Ballymun on July 7 last year (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: McGuinness had been disqualified from driving for ten years at the time of the offence. Judge Nolan suspended the final year of the four-year sentence, noting that McGuinness was a young man and that there was hope for his rehabilitation in the future.