'Caught red-handed' - burglars jailed after stealing €24,000 cash in Offaly

TWO burglars who were caught “red-handed” in a special garda operation which ended in Kildare were jailed for a total of of eight years and nine months at Tullamore Circuit Court.

The court heard that Martin Connors (25), Carrigeen, Clonmel, Co Tipperary and Gavin Prentice (30), Rossfield Drive, Tallaght, Dublin 24 were involved in break-ins at two neighbouring houses in the Drom Liath estate in Tullamore where €24,000 was stolen, along with smaller amounts of money, plus a Raymond Weil watch.

At a sentencing hearing, Detective Garda Jill Mangan, Trim Garda Station, confirmed to William Fennelly, BL, prosecuting, that on the evening of December 6 last year she was involved in a coordinated operation involving gardai from Trim and Mullingar with back-up from members of the garda special tactics and operations command.

The focus of the operation was burglaries which were taking place in the Midlands and Offaly/Meath general area and a specific vehicle, a dark coloured Audi S1 was known to be of interest.

That vehicle was seen parked at Parkwood Road, Tubber between Clara and Moate. It had five occupants wearing dark clothing and at 7.44pm it was seen again at Main Street, Clara and all of those on board were wearing balaclavas.

By 8pm it was at Drom Liath, off Collins Lane in Tullamore, where it was driven to the end of a cul-de-sac and a man wearing dark clothes, a balaclava and gloves was seen going through a side gate and the sound of breaking glass was heard. Other males were seen, a car door was heard opening and closing and light were seen going on in the houses.

Afterwards the Audi sped off and made its way to Kilmurray, Enfield, Co Kildare, near Johnstownbridge which had been “a location of interest” to the gardai.

The vehicle was stopped in a very narrow laneway in Kilmurray at about 9.05pm and its occupants dispersed.

Both Mr Connors and Mr Prentice fled from the vehicle but both were caught and arrested by gardai. A male juvenile was also arrested but the other two were not.

The Audi was seized and a technical examination of the vehicle took place. It had been sold in Northern Ireland but was never reregistered and had false number plates.

A total of €21,100 in cash was found in white envelopes in the glove compartment. The first name of the owner of one of the houses in Drom Liath was written on them.

A registration plate was in the passenger footwell and gloves, hats, runners, walkie talkies, a bottle of Mr Muscle cleaner and a sledge hammer were also found.

The Raymond Weil watch was found in Mr Prentice's pocket. Also found was a $5 bill, €105 in cash and £250, plus vouchers and clothes.

The occupant of one of the houses notified gardai that his alarm had gone off and reported that €24,000 had been stolen from what was described as a discrete location. A total of €600 worth of damage had been done.

Also, a woman living in the other house reported the theft of a number of items, including the watch.

Neither house was occupied at the time of the burglaries.

Both Mr Connors and Mr Prentice were subsequently interviewed by gardai but they exercised their right to silence.

Detective Garda Mangan said that €2,900 was still missing but the rest was recovered.

She added that Mr Connors had previous convictions for public order offences in Ireland and the UK, plus assault and theft in the UK, including Antrim Crown Court.

Mr Prentice had 28 previous convictions, most of which were in the UK and among them were burglary, drugs, theft of a vehicle and tendering counterfeit currency.

A victim impact statement from the man who had a large amount of cash stolen was read in court and he said he had a fear the thieves would come back.

He was worried because the alarm had not been heard by anybody and the men were able to stop it.

“I feel that nothing is safe in my own home,” he said. “It's the attitude of these criminals that they think they can do what they want and don't care who suffers as a result of their actions.”

He said it was frustrating that he was out working to pay bills and these crimes were done by people who did not work at all.

The injured party in the adjoining house chose not to make a victim impact statement but Det Garda Mangan said the woman had a teenage son who was no longer happy to stay at home on his own.

When Colm Hennessy, BL, for Mr Prentice, put it to the court that both men were apprehended quickly, neither house was occupied, nearly all the property was recovered and they had admitted their involvement and pleaded guilty, Judge Keenan Johnson replied: “They had no option but to plead. They were caught red-handed.”

Mr Hennessy said Mr Prentice had three children under the age of three but his partner had suffered the stillbirth of triplets and also had another miscarriage.

Counsel said the man was originally from Ireland but had a “troubled and sad upbringing”, had no real relationship with his parents and went to live with a grandmother in the UK.

He fell into the use of alcohol and drugs and left education early but now said he would like to get into construction and roofing when he got out of prison.

He had missed the birth of two of his children because of incarceration, including the birth of a child only 11 days ago.

He and his partner had been living in Essex and his wife had travelled to Tullamore for the sentencing hearing.

Mr Hennessy said the accused man wished to apologise to the victims and was prepared to take the punishment for his crime.

Mr Hennessy described the man's partner as an “incredible woman” and noted that she had written a letter to the court.

David Nugent, BL, for Mr Connors, said the defendant had grown up in Tallaght and lost his father at the age of 10 to suicide.

He never sought help for that loss and then when he was 20 he lost one of his brothers in a car crash in America, followed by the loss of a first cousin and two friends.

Mr Nugent said Mr Connors had never really dealt with the trauma and it appeared the death of his brother in particular had triggered something and he acted out.

A father of two children aged three and one, he was a man in whom his family were disappointed but having previously held a safe pass, he would now be seeking grief counselling, narcotics counselling, help with anger management and would go back to education.

Judge Johnson pointed out that Mr Connors had convictions from 2018 which was before his brother died.

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Martin Connors had pleaded guilty to burglary, which carried a maximum sentence of 14 years, plus possession of articles used in a burglary and possession of €21,100 of stolen cash, which both have maximum sentences of five years. Mr Prentice had also pleaded guilty to possession of €21,100 of stolen cash and burglary.

“These type of burglaries are all too prevalent and the court has to send out a clear message that this type of behaviour will not under any circumstances be tolerated,” said Judge Johnson.

“People are entitled to enjoy the privacy of their own residence.”

He said the negative impact on the victim was an aggravating factor in determining a sentence and also noted that while the men had pleaded guilty, they had also tried to escape when stopped by the gardai.

He said Mr Prentice was at high risk of reoffending and Mr Connors' previous convictions were fewer.

The judge said the letter from Mr Prentice's wife, who suffered from significant health difficulties herself, told of how he had been sent to England when he was 16 and had started mixing with the wrong people after a rough start in life with drug addicted parents. He was now suffering from depression and anxiety.

Judge Johnson assessed the offences at the mid range of offending which meant the headline sentence for burglary would be seven-and-a-half years.

He sentenced Mr Prentice to five-and-a-half years with the final nine months suspended for three years.

He ordered that he move to Essex within a week of his release from prison.

He sentenced Mr Connors to four years and nine months in prison, with the final nine months suspended for three years.

Concurrent sentences of two years were imposed on both men for the other offences and the prison terms were back dated to December 6 last, when they first were put in custody.