Killer’s son jailed over violent robbery

A 20-year-old son of a convicted gangland murderer yesterday received a three-year prison sentence after telling three teen soccer fans that he would kill them.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Judge Gerald Keys said that Anthony Moran also known as Rodney Stanners “is a danger to society” after imposing the three-year sentence, suspending the final 16 months.

During the robbery in May 2014, Moran held up a knife to the necks of the teens. He is the son of Limerick criminal David ‘Frog Eyes’ Stanners, 45, who was a key member of the McCarthy- Dundon gang before he was jailed for life for the murder of rival mobster Kieran Keane in January 2003.

At Ennis Circuit Court, Moran, of Delmege Park, Moyross, Limerick, was jailed for the 20 months after pleading guilty to robbing two 17-year-olds and one 16- year-old at the ‘Black Path’ at Corrib Drive in Shannon on May 17, 2014. Judge Keys said the probation report into Mr Moran states that there is a very high risk that he will reoffend.

In his plea of mitigation, Mark Nicholas, defending, said that the Stanners name itself “is enough to get you into trouble” and Mr Moran changed his surname to his mother’s surname.

“He has tried to do his best to stay out of trouble and by and large, he has managed to do that given the Stanners moniker,” he said.

Mr Nicholas asked that Moran be allowed until Friday to get his affairs in order and Judge Keys let him walk from court but ordered that he turn up at Limerick prison at 12pm on Friday to serve his jail term.