The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against the refusal to set aside guilty pleas and a separate appeal against the resulting three-year prison sentence for criminal damage to an excavator.
The appellant had pleaded guilty in March 2013 to two theft counts and one criminal damage count. The thefts concerned an excavating bucket, quick hitch and hydraulic ram taken from an excavator at windfarm construction works. The damage occurred during an unsuccessful attempt to remove further parts.
He later sought to withdraw his pleas, alleging, among other things, that his former solicitor and counsel had pressured him and that his mental health had affected his decision. The Circuit Court rejected the application after hearing evidence from the appellant, Gardaí and his former legal team. It found that he had been represented when he pleaded, was fit to plead, and had not shown good and substantial grounds to change his pleas. The Court of Appeal found no error in the exercise of that discretion and dismissed the appeal on that issue.
The appellant also challenged the sentence imposed on 16 December 2016: three years’ imprisonment on the criminal damage count, backdated to 27 July 2016. The theft counts were marked proven and taken into consideration. At the sentencing hearing, evidence put the stolen parts’ values at about €7,500; they were recovered. Damage to the excavator’s hydraulic pump and track motors was estimated at more than €10,000.
The Court of Appeal held that the sentencing judge had appropriately weighed the harm, aggravating and mitigating circumstances. It found the 40 per cent reduction from the five-year headline sentence sufficient to reflect mitigation, including the guilty pleas, admissions, mental health evidence and family circumstances. The court also upheld the decision not to suspend any further portion of the sentence, noting the absence of a rehabilitation record or specific treatment proposals.
The appeal court said it had some doubt whether the theft counts could properly have been taken into consideration after the appellant had been arraigned and pleaded guilty. As that approach benefited him and the prosecution had not appealed it, the court did not intervene. It dismissed the sentence appeal, leaving the three-year sentence in place.