Ross Behan jailed for six years, with three suspended, over Luas stabbing

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Ross Behan (19), of Benmadigan Road, Drimnagh, Dublin, has been sentenced to six years in prison, with the final three years suspended, for stabbing a man on a Luas tram. At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Melanie Greally imposed consecutive sentences totalling six years.

Behan pleaded guilty to assault causing harm, attempted robbery and possession of a knife. He also pleaded guilty to breaking into a house in Inchicore and stealing two cars, which he crashed and abandoned, the court heard.

The court heard that the attack happened on a Luas tram travelling towards Goldenbridge on May 6th. Garda Aidan Shaughnessy said Behan approached a Brazilian man who was on his way to work, showed him a knife and told him to hand over his phone. The man took out a flashlight that makes a sound like a taser. After a standoff, as the tram came to a stop, Behan stabbed him in the forearm and fled. The man had a one-inch cut and was treated at St James's Hospital. Behan was identified from CCTV footage and arrested shortly afterwards.

Behan has 27 previous convictions, including for burglary and theft. His barrister, Eoin Lawlor BL, said he was on drugs at the time and extremely remorseful, and that he had handed up three letters of apology. Counsel described a difficult childhood.

Judge Greally described Behan's behaviour as "bizarre and threatening". She said a prolonged period of incarceration would not best serve him or the community. She accepted that drug addiction was the root cause of the offences and ordered him to engage in drug treatment on his release.