Wicklow man jailed for seven years for drug debt demands and armed robbery
The Wicklow PeopleA Wicklow man who demanded €19,000 from a family over an alleged drug debt, before later carrying out an armed robbery at a local shop, has been jailed for seven years.
Evan Byrne (33), of Hazelwood, Fassaroe, Bray, appeared before a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing, after pleading guilty to one count of demanding money, one count of robbery and one count of possession of drugs for the purpose of sale and supply.
Detective Inspector Ger Brennan testified that, in January 2025, the accused was stopped by gardaí in Tallaght on suspicion of drug dealing, which led to gardaí executing a search warrant at the home of his girlfriend.
During the search, gardaí uncovered a safe containing €5,000 worth of cocaine, with Mr Byrne initially telling investigating members it was a “mixing agent”, before admitting it belonged to him.
Counsel for the prosecution, James Kelly, said that on November 25, 2025, two men knocked on the door of a woman and her husband demanding payment of their son’s alleged €19,000 drug debt, before stating they would accept €13,000.
Mr Byrne issued “vague threats”, including that he had “a van full of lads from Tallaght parked around the corner”, adding: “We can work this out.”
Det. Inspector Brennan stated that the victim was left shaken due to her son already having received multiple threats, and due to treats made against her home, which caused her to remove him from the family home.
He added that it is common for those collecting alleged drug debts to reduce the amount demanded.
The court heard the victim has since had to block up her letterbox to prevent petrol bombs being thrown into the property and lived in fear for months.
Ring doorbell footage played to the court identified Mr Byrne and an unknown male standing outside the house.
While on bail for the first two offences, the defendant committed a robbery at The Max in Enniskerry on April 23.
Mr Kelly said Mr Byrne arrived at the shop in a vehicle, before producing a handgun and demanding money, causing the shop worker to hand over the till containing €200 in cash.
CCTV footage showed the accused jumping over the counter and pointing the gun at the employee’s head. The court heard the firearm was approximately two feet from her head.
He travelled to Delgany, where he abandoned the car before changing his clothes and burning the vehicle. Gardaí later recovered a replica firearm from inside the vehicle.
Barrister for the prosecution informed the court that the defendant has more than 50 previous convictions for robbery, drug dealing, road traffic offences, throwing drugs into prison and possession of a firearm.
Det. Inspector Brennan remarked that Mr Byrne “doesn’t come from a broken home”.
Defence barrister Justin McQuade, instructed by solicitor Brendan Maloney, said his client comes from a prosocial family, with the court hearing that “Mr Byrne is the black sheep of his family”.
The court was told the family did not wish to make a victim impact statement as they “didn’t want to put the boot in”.
In mitigation, the court heard the accused comes from a stable home, with his mother working as a church administrator and his siblings all in full-time employment.
Defence counsel said Mr Byrne has a limited education, having dropped out during his first year of secondary school, and has a very limited work history.
He added that the accused is a chronic drug addict with a long history of substance misuse, including heroin.
However, Mr McQuade said Mr Byrne is now on methadone, adding that he “has a history of smoking heroin” and that it is an important principle of sentencing to allow for rehabilitation.
In sentencing, Judge Sinéad Ní Chúlacháin first dealt with the drugs offence, noting that €5,000 worth of cocaine had been found in a safe at the address searched by gardaí.
The judge said the maximum sentence available for the offence was life imprisonment “because of the damage caused by drugs to individuals, families and society”.
Turning to the charge of demanding money with menaces, Judge Ní Chúlacháin said the victim had been left terrified and shaken by the incident.
She noted the accused had been armed with a realistic-looking handgun, which he pointed at close range towards the shop worker.
The judge said the financial loss of €200 was not the real damage caused by the robbery, but rather “the fear experienced by the victim”.
She imposed a sentence of three years imprisonment on the drugs offence, followed by seven years for demanding money with menaces and a further concurrent seven years for the robbery, resulting in an overall sentence of 10 years imprisonment.
The final three years of both seven-year sentences were suspended, resulting in a total of seven years in prison.
The judge also ordered the forfeiture of the drugs and directed that the sentence commence in June 2027, after the accused completes a previously activated two-year suspended sentence imposed by Judge Martina Baxter.