Cone-brandishing garda caught two robbers

An off-duty garda has been praised by a judge for arming himself with a traffic cone and catching two robbers after witnessing a raid in a Dublin shop.

Kevin Penrose, aged 49, and Larry Brazil, aged 52, were sentenced yesterday by Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. The men have a total of 159 previous convictions between them.

Brazil, of Cappagh Avenue, Finglas, pleaded guilty to robbery of €2,288 and production of a knife at Centra Store on Westland Row, Dublin 2, on December 17, 2013. He received a four-year suspended sentence.

Penrose, of Casement Rd, also in Finglas, was jailed for four years after he pleaded guilty to robbery. He is currently serving a six-year prison term for a robbery carried out in May 2014.

Brazil later told gardaí he raided the shop as he needed money for Christmas.

Judge Nolan praised the diligent work of Det Garda Paul Johnson who he said “disabled” the robber’s getaway motorbike. He also congratulated the members of the public who assisted the detective in restraining the raiders until gardaí arrived.

He said Brazil had reached a point when he wanted to reform and added he was going “to take a chance on him” before he suspended the four- year prison term.

Garda Damien Beakey told Dara Hayes, prosecuting, the men robbed €2,288 from the Centra Store but the cash was still on them when gardaí arrested them.

Det Gda Johnson was on his way to Pearse St train station when he spotted two customers wearing motorbike helmets at the counter in the Centra. He stopped, thinking it was unusual and noticed that their visors were pulled down.

He armed himself with a traffic cone and waited outside the shop having heard the men threatening staff. He noticed a motorbike outside the shop had its engine running and knocked it over anticipating it to be the getaway vehicle. When the raiders left the shop he ran after them, identifying himself as a garda. He pushed Brazil, who had a knife, and Brazil fell over the bike.