The Court of Appeal has reduced Paul Crosby’s sentence for arson, finding that the seven-year headline sentence used by the sentencing judge was excessive and outside the permissible range.
Crosby had pleaded guilty to arson after a stolen Volkswagen Polo was set alight in a field near an industrial estate on the Ballymakenny Road in Drogheda on 10 May 2019. He was a passenger in a BMW that Gardaí stopped shortly after smoke was seen rising from the field. The court record says another person bought accelerant and set fire to the car. The Polo was destroyed and had been valued at €10,000.
At Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court, Crosby received five years’ imprisonment, with the final six months suspended. A separate count of possessing stolen property was taken into consideration. The sentencing judge identified a seven-year headline sentence before accounting for mitigation. She cited planning, previous convictions and the loss, while also recognising Crosby’s early guilty plea, cooperation, apology, personal circumstances and drug addiction. She said the sentence needed to address rehabilitation as well as deterrence.
Crosby appealed on the basis that the headline sentence was too high and that he had not received enough credit for his guilty plea. The prosecution argued that the planning, the €10,000 loss and relevant previous convictions supported the sentence. The defence compared the case with DPP v Rae, another arson case, while noting that the fire in this case was set in a field away from nearby homes.
The Court of Appeal held that the arson did not fall within the highest range of seriousness. It said the sentencing judge had placed disproportionate weight on aggravating factors and that the field location reduced the danger to the public compared with the circumstances in Rae. The court found that sufficient credit had been given for the guilty plea; the error was in setting the headline sentence.
The appeal was allowed and the original sentence quashed. The court set a five-year headline sentence, reduced it to three and a half years in light of mitigation, and suspended the final six months. The suspended portion is subject to a bond to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for 12 months after release, on Crosby’s own surety of €100, and six months’ probation supervision after release. Credit is to be given for time served in this matter as directed by the Circuit Court.