Courts / Dublin / Report
On-bail robber rumbled by 'find my phone' feature
Summary
An on-bail criminal with 117 previous convictions has been jailed for robbing an iPhone after gardaí used the 'find my phone' feature to track him down. Carl McGuinness went to an ice-cream parlour in Ranelagh in South Dublin on the evening of February 11, 2025, carrying a hammer. He told the shop manager to open the till and banged the hammer on the counter several times. The injured party told McGuinness that she couldn't open the till. The defendant then leaned across the counter and tried to open the till, accidentally triggering the panic alarm. An investigating garda told Simon Donogh BL, prosecuting, that McGuinness then grabbed the woman's iPhone 13, worth approximately €550, before escaping on a bike. Gardai responded to the panic alarm, arriving at the shop quickly. They used the 'find my phone' feature to track the phone and found McGuinness nearby. The court heard that the defendant attempted unsuccessfully to flee and when searched, the iPhone and the hammer were found on his person.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: On-bail robber rumbled by 'find my phone' feature. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- February 11, 2025 Hearing Or Sentence
- August 2024 Incident
- May 2025 Incident
- 2026-06-16 Publication
Why: He told gardai he had a drug problem and took the phone to sell it in order to buy crack cocaine. CNI source report
Case subjects
Defendant
Outcome: He is also currently serving a sentence of nine years, which was imposed in March for offences involving the taking of vehicles, attempted theft and dangerous driving around Dublin on dates between August 2024 and May 2025. She directed that this sentence should run consecutive to part of the global sentence McGuinness is currently serving for the car theft-related offences.
Places mentioned
- Dublin
- Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
- Beneavin Road
- Dublin
Topics
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