Courts / Carlow / Report
Repeat roads offender avoids jail for armed ramming
Summary
Carl Finnegan, 34, of Rathvilly Park, Finglas, was charged with endangerment, production of a knife and driving without insurance after he deliberately crashed his mother's car into a vehicle carrying a man and his son in Fitzwilliam Square North on 4 April 2020. Finnegan claimed he was looking for a person who had insulted his daughter about her disability and mistakenly believed the occupants were that person. He admitted to holding a knife, described as a large butcher knife or machete, and to driving at high speed before ramming the other car. No injuries were reported. The court noted Finnegan's 13 prior convictions, mainly for road offences, and the premeditated nature of the act. Judge Melanie Greally accepted his guilty plea, remorse and anger‑management steps, and imposed a 20‑month sentence, fully suspended, warning that a future weapons or violence charge would be treated more harshly. The incident was described as a case of mistaken identity by the prosecution.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Repeat roads offender avoids jail for armed ramming. Charges or matters: endangerment, production of a knife and driving with no insurance at Fitzwilliam Square North, Dublin 7, on April 4, 2020. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- April 4, 2020 Other
- 2022-11-04 Publication
Case subjects
Defendant
Charges: endangerment, production of a knife and driving with no insurance at Fitzwilliam Square North, Dublin 7, on April 4, 2020 (Admitted)
Plea: Guilty
Outcome: Judge Greally imposed a 20 month sentence which she suspended in full, warning Finnegan the outcome would be different if he came before the court again in relation to charges involving weapons or violence.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Rathvilly
- Rathvilly Park
- Fitzwilliam Square
- Dublin
- Fitzwilliam Square
Topics
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