Judge blames doctors for delay in sentencing burglars

Doctors at the Central Mental Hospital were criticised by a circuit court judge in Cork yesterday who said that a man could not be sentenced because of their failure to do a psychiatric report on the accused.

“Doctors at the Central Mental Hospital should realise they are there to facilitate courts rather than the courts being there to facilitate doctors,” Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Seven houses were burgled within about a mile of UCC and one man, whose elderly parents’ home was ransacked, drove after a suspicious looking car in the area which took off at high speed until gardaí arrived to find thousands of euro in cash and jewellery stashed in the car.

Thomas Wall, aged 21, of 3 Neilstown Cottages, Clondalkin, is one of three men who was brought back to court yesterday having been remanded in custody a month ago following their conviction by a jury for carrying out several burglaries in Cork City.

Sentencing had been put back for a psychiatric report on Thomas Wall. None was available yesterday.

“I cannot understand the delays. The Central Mental Hospital should realise the unsatisfactory nature of it because they are causing the delays,” the judge said.

The judge told the two co-accused — William Wall, aged 29, of Blacktrench, Newbridge, Co Kildare, who was guilty of four burglaries, and James Cash, aged 26, of 21 Boot Road, Clondalkin, who was guilty of four also — that they could not be sentenced because of the delay in the report on Thomas Wall, who was convicted of five.

Addressing William Wall and James Cash, the judge said, “You cannot be sentenced because the Central Mental Hospital cannot get around to doing a psychiatric report on the other man. Unfortunately, I cannot deal with it, it is out of my control.”

“A custodial sentence is inevitable. I will backdate sentence to the time you went into custody.

“I cannot do the sentencing because the Central Mental Hospital cannot get themselves in order.”

The judge said of the crimes in the case, “I regard this as being an offence of the first magnitude.”

They were convicted of trespassing in houses and stealing cash and jewellery — in one case the theft of €15,000 worth of jewellery.

The burgled houses were at Glendale Drive in Glasheen, Highfield West off College Road, Summerstown Road, in Wilton, and four houses at Aldergrove, in Bishopstown, on Dec 1, 2012.