Courts / Dublin / Report

Mugging victim turned tables on attacker by tackling him to the ground and taking his phone instead, court hears

Date
2015-03-24

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a mobile‑phone mugging on the North Strand, Dublin, on 21 January 2014, 27‑year‑old Blaine Coakley attempted to steal Daire Cagney's phone after a failed drug‑deal. Coakley followed Cagney to a flats complex, threatened him with a syringe, and when Cagney pulled out his phone to check the time, Coakley grabbed it and shoved it into his pocket. Cagney chased the attacker, pulled him by the hood and tackled him to the ground. While on the ground, Coakley covered his face and Cagney noticed the phone on the floor, pocketed it, and later viewed videos on it that identified Coakley. Gardaí used these videos to confirm his identity. Coakley, who had 93 prior convictions, pleaded guilty to theft of a mobile phone and was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, to run concurrently with a previous sentence, with release scheduled for 2017.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Mugging victim turned tables on attacker by tackling him to the ground and taking his phone instead, court hears. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

January 21, 2014 Hearing Or Sentence
2015-03-24 Publication

Case subjects

Blaine Coakley

Convicted Person

Outcome: Blaine Coakley (27) of Lourdes House, Gloucester Place Upper, Dublin was jailed for two years after pleading guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to theft of a mobile phone on the North Strand, Dublin on January 21, 2014.