Mulvey gets 10 years for attempted armed robbery in Cabra

An armed criminal who told gardaí arresting him that they had him "banged to rights" has been given 10 years in consecutive jail sentences by Judge Donagh McDonagh at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

David Mulvey (aged 24) of Berryfield Drive, Finglas pleaded guilty to attempted armed robbery of the post office at Fassaugh Avenue in Cabra in January 13, 2006 and to possession of a loaded double-barrel sawn-off shot gun on April 6, 2006 at Market Green, Ballbriggan.

Derek Devoy (aged 24) Balbutcher Drive, Ballymun was also jailed for seven years by Judge McDonagh for his role in the Balbriggan crime.

Detective Garda Michael Gibbs told Ms Anne B Rowland BL, prosecuting, that Mulvey was accompanied in the post office crime by "a man in black" who escaped after firing a shot at waiting armed gardai. This man remained unidentified.

He said that Ms Deirdre Duncan, the post mistress, reported to gardai that she had noticed the lock on the gate into the back yard had been tampered and she was expecting a cash delivery of around €90,000.

Ms Duncan continued her work with an unmarked garda car stationed outside the front of the building and four armed gardai hidden in the back room.

Det Gda Gibbs said the gardai in the car saw Mulvey and another man go into the laneway beside the post office. Minutes later the gardai in the back room saw "a man dressed in black wearing a black balaclava" come through the gate.

Det Gda Gibbs said "the man in black" used heavy duty wire cutters and a reinforced iron joist to cut through the security grill. Mulvey used a yellow gas cylinder to break the remaining glass in the window.

Both started climbing in through the window but there wasn’t enough space for them to get through so they were "pushing and shoving until ‘the man in black’ noticed the gardai in the room".

Det Gda Gibbs said "the man in black" backed out of the window and ran towards the back gate, followed by the gardai who informed him they were armed. He looked behind him and shot at them with an unidentified weapon and made his escape despite the gardai firing back.

Mulvey had run in the opposite direction but was discovered hiding in the back garden of a nearby house having discarded his balaclava and gloves on the way.

Detective Garda William Saunderson, from the Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation, told Ms Rowland that on April 6 2006 gardai had received anonymous information about a number of stolen vehicles being used in the Balbriggan area.

Gardaí became aware during a surveillance operation that afternoon of a green Nissan cargo van in which two men were seen wearing high visibility vests and dark gloves. The van was intercepted by unmarked garda cars at Market Green in Balbriggan.

Mulvey, who was driving, tried to push a garda car out of the way before swerving into the driveway of a house. Devoy got out of the van and ran, discarding his vest and gloves on the way, but was also caught.

Mulvey told gardai he would not answer any questions saying: "You have me banged to rights."

Det Gda Sanderson said a sawn off shotgun was found on a console between the two seats. It was loaded and there were two spare cartridges in the van.

Ms Martina Buckley of the Cabra After Care Project told Mr Damien Colgan SC, defending Mulvey, that she had been working with Mulvey for some time to help with his cocaine addiction. She said he had showed a genuine desire to turn his life around and would continue to receive one to one counselling.

Ms Buckley told Mr Michael O’Higgins SC (with Mr Sean Gillane BL) defending that Devoy had left school at 13. Both his brothers had serious drug problems and his sister and mother had psychiatric and other serious health problems.

He had a small child with his girlfriend but his time in prison was putting a major strain on the relationship.

Judge McDonagh said he could not ignore the severity of the shot gun charge. He said carrying a loaded gun was completely different from an unloaded one. "It is not carried to threaten, it is carried to use."

He suspended the final two years of the seven year sentences on both men and imposed a consecutive three year term on Mulvey for the post office attempted robbery while he was on bail for the Balbriggan crime.