Courts / Dublin / Report

Jail for man whose driving "exposed large number of people to serious injury or death"

Date
2016-01-26

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Tallaght

County
Dublin

Summary

Richard Mansfield, 21, of Tallaght, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two endangerment charges, taking a vehicle and dangerous driving after stealing a BMW. He admitted smoking cannabis before driving. Mansfield performed a handbrake turn into oncoming rush‑hour traffic on the Tallaght Bypass on 7 January 2015, accelerating at high speed across three lanes and narrowly missing a patrol car and pedestrians. Garda Alan Young arrested him after a chase. Mansfield had 60 prior convictions, including dangerous driving, burglary and drug possession. Judge Melanie Greally sentenced him to four and a half years, suspending the last 18 months, and disqualified him from driving for four years. The suspended portion is conditional on probation for two years after release. The sentence reflects the serious risk posed to many people, including Gardaí, during the incident.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Jail for man whose driving "exposed large number of people to serious injury or death". Charges or matters: two charges of endangerment, taking a vehicle and dangerous driving at Tallaght Bypass on January 7, 2015. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

January 7, 2015 Incident
2016-01-26 Publication

Why: A man who performed a handbrake turn into oncoming rush hour traffic in order to avoid gardaí has been sentenced to four and half years with the last 18 months suspended. CNI source report

Case subjects

Richard Mansfield

Defendant

Charges: two charges of endangerment, taking a vehicle and dangerous driving at Tallaght Bypass on January 7, 2015 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Judge Greally suspended the last 18 months of the four and half year sentence on strict conditions including that he engage with the Probation Service for two years upon his release.