Courts / Tipperary / Report

Five years for drug addict who threatened to take woman's children in "terrifying" car-jacking

Date
2015-02-13

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Tipperary

Summary

In a 30‑minute incident in south Dublin, 41‑year‑old Francis Gavigan, a drug addict, forced a woman, Eleanor McCarthy, to drive his car while threatening to Taser her and take her children. He showed the children a memorial card of his late mother and claimed he was a "bad apple" desperate to avoid bank robbery. Gavigan pleaded guilty to robbery and false imprisonment. He was sentenced to five years in prison, with the sentence backdated to May 17, 2014. The court noted the victims felt severely threatened but that Gavigan had no intent to harm them. He had 34 prior convictions, including vehicle theft and violent theft, and was reported to be engaging with prison chaplaincy and drug‑addiction support at the time of sentencing.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Five years for drug addict who threatened to take woman's children in "terrifying" car-jacking. Charges or matters: the robbery and false imprisonment of Eleanor McCarthy on May 16, 2014 in the Dublin 6 area. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

May 16, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
May 17, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
2015-02-13 Publication

Case subjects

Francis Gavigan

Defendant

Charges: the robbery and false imprisonment of Eleanor McCarthy on May 16, 2014 in the Dublin 6 area (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Passing sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal court, Judge Martin Nolan said the three victims had felt under severe threat and feared the worst. "It is hard to know what would go through a person's mind when a stranger jumps into your car and takes control of your life, with the added worry of what this man might do to the two children," he said.