The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against the severity of a sentence for robbery, rejecting a challenge focused on how much of the prison term was suspended.
The appellant had received six years’ imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended, for a robbery committed on 16 February 2019. The sentence was imposed on 21 October 2021. The appeal did not challenge the trial judge’s eight-year headline sentence or the six-year term after mitigation; it argued that too little of the sentence had been suspended.
The judgment said the robbery happened at Griffeen Glen Avenue, Lucan, County Dublin, as the injured party was moving stock from his car into his dwelling. The phones, about 20 high-end devices valued at between €11,000 and €12,000, had been purchased for his mobile-phone repair and accessories business. The court said the loss fell on him personally because the phones were taken from his private dwelling and there was no insurance cover.
The injured party described three people arriving in a car without lights and demanding the phones, while making threats to shoot and kill him. One had a large knife and tried to strike or stab him; another struck him on the leg with a wheel brace. He was hit on the back but not cut. The judgment records that, when defence counsel put to Garda Hugh O’Carroll that the appellant had not possessed a weapon, the garda said he did not dispute that. Palm prints lifted from the injured party’s car matched the appellant’s prints on file.
In outlining the sentencing background, the Court of Appeal noted the appellant’s 43 previous convictions, none recorded as relating to crimes of violence. The appellant had become addicted to heroin at 18, had been unemployed before the offence, and told the court he had begun associating with a negative peer group. By the sentence hearing, he had secured work installing refrigeration units. He brought €2,000 to the adjourned sentence hearing.
The sentencing judge set a pre-mitigation sentence of eight years, then reduced it to six years and suspended the final 18 months. The appeal court noted the early guilty plea, a positive but cautious probation report, steps towards rehabilitation, family support, employment and the limited compensation addressed.
It said the robbery involved violence, serious threats, significant loss, premeditation and substantial planning. The court may intervene in a sentence appeal only where an error in principle is established or the sentence falls outside the available range. It found the sentence was within that range and dismissed the appeal.