Post office armed raider took wrong turn as he fled

An armed raider of a post office jumped on his motorbike and sped off but took a turn into a dead end and dropped his gloves in his anxiety to get out of the cul de sac.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin imposed a sentence of six years on Derek Lynch, aged 31, of 12 Kilmore Rd, Knochaneeny, Cork, for the robbery at Friars Rd post office on Friars Rd, Cork, on May 20, 2010, with a handgun and sledgehammer. He got away with over €2,500.

Det Garda Coughlan said two women working in a salon across the road spotted and made a note of the registration number of the motorbike.

Lynch was put on trial for the crime three years ago. He was convicted of robbery and being armed with a handgun and hammer. He was sentenced to nine years with the last year suspended.

He appealed the convictions and sentence. The Court of Criminal Appeal quashed those convictions.

Lynch came back before Cork Circuit Criminal Court earlier this year for retrial on the two charges.

He then changed his plea to guilty to the robbery charge and the state withdrew the firearm charge.

Lynch has already served three years in custody.

That will be taken into consideration as part of the six years and the last two years of the sentence was suspended.