Courts / Dublin / Report

Burglar smashed into garda patrol car

Date
2022-10-06

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

A 26-year-old man has been sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for a series of offences including dangerous driving, burglary, and criminal damage. Paul Darcy, with addresses in Dublin and Co Sligo, pleaded guilty to reversing a vehicle into an occupied garda patrol car on September 7, 2018, at Stockhole Lane, Santry, trapping two officers inside and injuring them. He also admitted three burglary charges relating to break-ins at properties in the Glasnevin area on September 2, 2018, unauthorised taking of a taxi from Palmerstown on October 11, 2018, and making off without payment for fuel at a service station two days later. Judge Nolan imposed consecutive sentences on the primary counts while suspending the final 18 months subject to strict conditions. He disqualified Darcy from driving for six years, noting the seriousness of deliberately reversing into an occupied vehicle. The court heard Darcy, who had been on bail at the time of the incident, has since engaged in mental health treatment and is drug-free.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Burglar smashed into garda patrol car. Charges or matters: endangerment, dangerous driving and criminal damage on September 7, 2018 at Stockhole Lane, Santry; three counts of burglary on September 2, 2018, in various locations in the Glasnevin area; the unauthorised taking of a car from a housing estate in Palmerstown on the night of October 11, 2018, and making off without paying for fuel at Applegreen Service Station, Palmerstown on October 13, 2018. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

September 7, 2018 Incident
September 2, 2018 Incident
October 11, 2018 Incident
October 13, 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
May 2019 Incident
2022-10-06 Publication

Case subjects

Paul Darcy

Defendant

Charges: endangerment, dangerous driving and criminal damage on September 7, 2018 at Stockhole Lane, Santry; three counts of burglary on September 2, 2018, in various locations in the Glasnevin area; the unauthorised taking of a car from a housing estate in Palmerstown on the night of October 11, 2018, and making off without paying for fuel at Applegreen Service Station, Palmerstown on October 13, 2018 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: He imposed a two-year sentence on the first burglary count, a four-year sentence in relation to the endangerment count to run consecutively, and 18 months for the unauthorised taking of the vehicle to run concurrently, with all other counts taken into consideration. Judge Nolan imposed a six-year sentence in total with the final 18 months suspended on strict conditions, taking the mitigation into account.