Ex garda escapes jail after ‘childish’ effort to rob shop

A GARDA who attempted to rob a shop with an imitation firearm was given a three-year suspended sentence yesterday.

The officer, who has since left the force, attempted to rob his local shop in Co Cork while absent without leave from the Kildare Garda station where he was based.

Mario Boersma, 39, with an address at Rosebay Drive, Forest Hill, Carrigaline, was shaking visibly as he attended Cork Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing yesterday.