Joseph Rafferty jailed for 6½ years after service station car hijacking

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Joseph Rafferty, 45, was jailed for 6½ years after hijacking a woman’s car at a Walkinstown service station on April 26th, 2025. He had threatened to kill her, and she jumped from the moving car. The court heard he pleaded guilty to the hijacking and related offences, including stealing her phone and dental veneers, robbing a Rathnew service station and attempting a robbery in Bray.

Judge Orla Crowe imposed a 7½-year sentence for the hijacking, with the final year suspended. The other counts were taken into consideration. The woman’s car and personal items were not recovered, the court heard.