Carjacker took two vehicles in one night

A man who carried out two violent carjackings in one night has been sentenced to three years imprisonment.

David Thomas, aged 32, pulled Gerry Brown out of his car before Thomas and another man assaulted him. The men then threatened to shoot the victim because he had seen their face.

Thomas of Glenties Ave, Finglas, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawful seizure of a car at Shankill, Dublin on April 16, 2014.

The two drove off in the stolen car before abandoning it on the N11 road near Jack White’s pub in Co Wicklow. Thomas then stole another vehicle nearby by again wrenching the driver out of his van, the court heard.

Thomas was previously sentenced at Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court for the second incident and got three years with one suspended. Judge John Aylmer yesterday imposed the same sentence, to run alongside the one he is serving.

Mr Brown said he was in fear for his life. The court heard he ran away in a zig zag fashion to avoid a bullet and ended up hiding in bushes until he heard his attackers driving off.

Garnet Orange SC, defending, said this was a chaotic and drunken spree by two men who were simply looking for a mode of transport. Det Garda Stephen Ryan agreed the vehicles were not used as part of other crimes and said he didn’t think the men ever had a gun.