Prison sentence for ramming garda car

A driver who reversed into a garda patrol car, causing injuries to two gardai, has been handed a prison sentence of four and a half years.

Paul Darcy (26) pleaded guilty to endangerment, dangerous driving and criminal damage on September 7, 2018 at Stockhole Lane, Santry.

Darcy with addresses at St John's Lane West, Thomas Street, Dublin and Calry Court, Stephen Street, Co. Sligo also pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary on September 2, 2018, in various locations in the Glasnevin area.

He also pleaded guilty to the unauthorised taking of a car from a housing estate in Palmerstown on the night of October 11, 2018, and making off without paying for fuel at Applegreen Service Station, Palmerstown on October 13, 2018.

Garda Ross Briary gave evidence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that two of his colleagues were on patrol when they spotted a white Ford Mondeo vehicle with three occupants acting suspiciously. Darcy was later identified as the driver of this vehicle.

The patrol car followed the vehicle and indicated for it to stop. The vehicle began to speed up, and gardaí continued to follow. The vehicle travelled across an M50 overpass bridge at around 100km/h.

Gardai continued to pursue the vehicle, which then turned and breaked at full force. Gda Briary told Michael Hourigan BL, prosecuting, that gardaí believe this was an unsuccessful attempt to cause the patrol car to collide with the vehicle.

Gardai then noticed the vehicle's reversing lights were on and it later began to reverse at speed towards the patrol car. The vehicle smashed into the patrol car with force, causing the front airbags to deploy.

The gardai attempted to call for assistance, but the patrol car's electronics had been damaged. The two gardai were injured and were trapped in the patrol car. They were treated in hospital and medical reports were submitted to the court.

Gardai noticed movement in the back of the other vehicle, which had become embedded in the front of the patrol car.

When other garda units arrived, all three occupants were sitting in the back seat and initially attempted to evade arrest. The three made no admissions when interviewed and denied being the driver of the vehicle.

Over €5,000 worth of damage was caused to the patrol car. Victim impact statements were handed into the court but were not read out.

Darcy had been on bail in relation to three burglary charges at the time of this incident.

Keith Spencer BL, defending, said Darcy is a father of two young children and had left Dublin to live in Co. Sligo. His client is from a large family and had been under the bad influence of a family member at the time of the offence.

Darcy also had undiagnosed mental health difficulties but is now receiving intensive treatment for psychosis. Mr Spencer said his client is also drug-free and has turned his life around

Mr Spencer said Darcy apologised to the victims of his crimes. His client had a skewed view of the gardaí at that time but has come to appreciate their role.

Mr Spencer asked Judge Nolan to consider an adjournment to allow Darcy to spend time with his mother, who is in extremely poor health. He also applied for an adjournment to allow Darcy to make a gesture of compensation for the damage caused to the patrol car.

Refusing both applications, Judge Nolan acknowledged the expressions of remorse and the positive steps Darcy has taken but said these were serious crimes.

He said Darcy had intentionally reversed a vehicle into an occupied car and this “reflects badly” on him.

He imposed a two-year sentence on the first burglary count, a four-year sentence in relation to the endangerment count to run consecutively, and 18 months for the unauthorised taking of the vehicle to run concurrently, with all other counts taken into consideration.

Judge Nolan imposed a six year sentence in total with the final 18 months suspended on strict conditions, taking the mitigation into account. He also disqualified Darcy from driving for six years.

A list of previous convictions was handed to the court, but not read out.

Additional evidence of other offending       

On September 2, 2018, two men and a girl were noticed outside a house in the Griffin Avenue area.

While the three said they knew the property's owners, neighbours became suspicious when movement was spotted inside the house and contacted gardaí.

A man was also seen coming out of the side of the house, carrying a basket. He attempted to run, and items, including jewellery, fell from the basket. The three individuals got into the car, which was driven by Darcy.

At 6.30 pm, two men were spotted jumping the rails at Scoil Ciaran CBS in Glasnevin. The witness heard a loud bang and saw a man run to a car. They took photos of the car as it left and the vehicle was registered to Darcy.

The other accused entered the school and damage was caused to the principal's office, a safe and a cash box, though no property was taken.

Later that evening, an alarm went off at St Aidan's CBS, Whitehall. Damage was caused to the principal's office, but nothing was taken.

Gardaí arrived at the scene and found Darcy in his car. Darcy told gardaí that he was waiting for his girlfriend. He was wearing a cast on his arm which matched CCTV footage from the earlier incident.

The second accused was later arrested.

Darcy made no admissions when interviewed by gardaí. No victim impact statements were made in relation to the burglaries.

Mr Spencer said that that while damage was caused to the schools, no property had been taken.

Garda Sarah Smith gave evidence that a taxi was stolen from its driver outside his home in Palmerstown on the night of October 11, 2018.

The driver had locked the car after finishing work when he was approached by two men, who took the vehicle's keys.

Two days later on October 13, 2018, the stolen taxi with two occupants pulled into the forecourt at the Applegreen Service Station in Palmerstown at 4.30 am. The occupants made off without paying for €90.10 of fuel.

The taxi was later found burnt out. Darcy was identified as the driver by gardaí using CCTV footage. He was arrested in May 2019, but made no admissions and denied that it was him in the footage.

No victim impact statements were made, though Gda Smith told Katherine McGillicuddy BL, prosecuting, that the owner of the taxi was left out of pocket.