The Court of Appeal has reduced a man’s sentence for aggravated burglary from 12 years to nine, finding that the original headline sentence was too high and that the disparity with his co-accused’s sentence was excessive and unwarranted by the facts.
The appeal concerned a sentence imposed after a three-day trial at the Circuit Criminal Court in Clonmel. The appellant had been sentenced in July 2015 to 12 years in prison, with the final two years suspended for five years on conditions that included not entering County Tipperary during that period after his release.
The Court of Appeal said the trial judge had erred in setting the headline sentence at 12 years. It also found that sentencing the appellant to twice the term imposed on his co-accused was excessive. The disparity had widened further after the Court of Appeal reduced the co-accused’s six-year sentence to four and a half years. The court said it was therefore unnecessary to consider the appellant’s other grounds of appeal.
The burglary took place in the early hours of 26 September 2013 at a home near Carrick-on-Suir. The judgment said the appellant and another man broke into the house. The householder, identified in the judgment as Mr Quigley, was attacked when he went to investigate. The appellant had a spanner and the other man an iron bar. As Mr Quigley held the appellant on the ground, the other man kicked and struck Mr Quigley with the bar. The appellant escaped during the assault, but Mr Quigley followed and detained him. The other man escaped and broke his leg falling over a wall.
Victim impact statements described physical bruising and lasting fear and disruption for Mr Quigley and his wife. They said they had installed alarms and outside lights, felt unsafe at home and changed their routines and social lives.
The Court of Appeal described the burglary as serious, noting the violence used against Mr Quigley and the harm to both victims. It also noted that the appellant had travelled to the scene by bus and may have thought the house would be empty. The judgment recorded that he had 12 previous convictions and that a prison report said he was then well behaved and working as a staff mess cleaner.
The court substituted a nine-year sentence and suspended its final two years on the usual terms. The judgment does not specify those terms.