Four years for robber who hid €200 in boxers

A robber who stashed his ill gotten €200 in his boxer shorts has had been sentenced by Judge Katherine Delahunt to four years in prison for robbery, burglary and assault.

Robert Mulholland (aged 23), of Blessington Street, near the city centre, pleaded guilty to the robbery of €200 from Xtravsion in Fairview on July 24, 2005.

He also pleaded guilty to burglary and assaulting Mr Sergio Aguilar causing him harm at a flat on the North Circular Road on March 20, 2005.

Judge Delahunt said that reports before the courts indicated that Mulholland did not have the determination to complete his drug treatment unsupervised and would need to attend at a residential centre.

"While you are on drugs, you will continue to cause problems in the community," she said before she suspended the last two years of the sentence on condition that Mulholland undergo drug treatment and liaise with the probation service for 18 months on his release from prison.

Garda Shane Lavery told Mr Ronan Kennedy BL, prosecuting, that Mulholland grabbed the till in Xtravision, Fairview with one hand when it was opened after he asked for change.

Mr Darren Ryan who was working as a sales assistant there backed away when he saw a needle in his other hand and Mulholland made off with €200.

Gda Lavery said he stopped Mulholland shortly afterwards after becoming suspicious when he noticed him running towards the city centre and found he had a syringe.

He was taken to Clontarf Station where he admitted the robbery and told gardaí that the money was in his boxer shorts. He said he was a heroin addict and needed the money to repay a debt.

Sergeant William Hickey told Mr Kennedy that when Mr Sergio Aguilar, a Spanish national, was awoken by noises in the bedroom of his flat on the night of March 20, 2005, he saw Mulholland standing in his bedroom holding two of his CD storage units.

He asked him who he was and Mulholland went to leave after replying that he had come into the wrong room but Mr Aguilar caught up with him at the entrance to the flat where he took back his CD holders.

Sgt Hickey said Mulholland also had a rucksack which Mr Aguilar thought might contain more of his belongings. There was a struggle between them for the rucksack during which Mulholland lunged at Mr Aguilar who managed to grab the rucksack and get back into his flat, locking the door.

He found two of his CDs in the bag and noticed that his mobile phone and wallet were also missing. His flat mate called the gardaí.

Sgt Hickey said Mr Aguilar then noticed that there was blood on his clothes and discovered he had wounds to the front and back of his shoulder. He didn’t suffer any long term physical injuries from the attack but had since returned to Spain after suffering a serious accident.

Mr Damien Colgan BL, defending, said Mulholland expressed remorse. He had been living rough at the time "moving from hostel to hostel" but his time in prison had focused his mind on where his life could go.