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Grandfather avoids jail for his part in armed raid

Summary

Joseph Prendergast, aged 50, pleaded guilty to robbing €3,500 from a Permanent TSB office in Phibsboro on 16 November 2012. He was described by Garda Dan D'Arcy as acting mainly as a look‑out at the door while co‑accused Paul Carabini, aged 48, threatened staff and customers with a knife. Prendergast had 59 prior convictions, including drug possession and theft. Judge Martin Nolan imposed a three‑and‑a‑half‑year suspended sentence on Prendergast, taking into account his partner's medical difficulties and his lack of offending since 2012. Carabini received a ten‑year sentence, with the final three years suspended, for the robbery and other offences. The court heard that Prendergast waited at the bank's door, while Carabini demanded money, and that DNA evidence linked Prendergast to discarded clothing and gloves found in the lane after the raid. The case was prosecuted by Paul Carroll BL and defended by Luigi Rea BL and Dominic McGinn SC.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Grandfather avoids jail for his part in armed raid. Charges or matters: robbing €3,500 from Permanent TSB, Phibsboro Road on November 16, 2012. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• November 16, 2012 Incident
• 2015-04-13 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Stage Sentence Theft

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Read the original CNI report