Judge spares teenager Oberstown detention over high-speed pursuit of stolen car in Wicklow
The Wicklow PeopleA Dublin teenager, who took part in a high-speed pursuit in a stolen car, has avoided a five-month detention sentence at Oberstown after a judge substituted the penalty with a conditional discharge on appeal.
The juvenile, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared at a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court for a District Court appeal against the severity of his sentence.
District Court Judge David Kennedy had sentenced the youth to five month’s imprisonment at Oberstown Youth Detention Centre, after he pleaded guilty to unauthorised carriage in a stolen vehicle.
Sergeant Paul O’Sullivan gave evidence that in May 2023, while on patrol, he received a report of a stolen Toyota Aqua from Tinakelly Park in Wicklow town at 1am. He spotted the vehicle entering the N11 northbound at Ashford. The car failed to stop, which led to a “lengthy pursuit” along the M50 into Tallaght.
He added that the stolen vehicle was a Japanese import, which had no immobiliser, which has become a major issue, with the theft of these vehicles “becoming quite common”.
The youth, who was a passenger in the car and believed to be a member of the Lucky Dip gang, was detained by gardaí and made admissions before being released into the care of his mother.
State solicitor Brian Robinson remarked that the M50 has become an issue in relation to car thieves from Dublin.
Air Support Unit personnel were called in to assist gardaí, with the court hearing that police protocol states they can be utilised for the purpose of pursuit safety, allowing pursuing gardaí to stand down.
Damage caused to the vehicle was valued at more than €10,000.
After his arrest, the accused was referred to the junior liaison officer (JLO) programme, but was refused for his own safety.
Mr Robinson informed Judge John Martin that the defendant has not come to Garda attention since and has no previous convictions.
Judge Kennedy ordered a probation report prior to sentencing, but the juvenile failed to engage.
During cross-examination, counsel for the youth, Ciara O’Brien, explained that her client was “easily influenced”, and fell in with a group of individuals who are nearly all in custody serving sentences.
She said that when the District Court judge ordered the probation report, her client believed his girlfriend was pregnant, which caused him to go into “crisis mode”, due to his head “being gone”.
In his judgement, Judge Martin substituted the original sentence, and imposed a conditional discharge in place of the five-month detention order.
He told the juvenile the order would remain in place until the defendant was 18 and warned that the “ball is back in your court”.
Addressing the teenager directly, the judge explained the consequences of detention, telling him that if he had been sent to Oberstown he would eventually move on to Mountjoy Prison if he continued offending.
“For the rest of your days you would have a prison number,” the judge said.
He urged the youth to move forward with his life, adding: “You don’t want to spend your life in places like these.”