Court jails armed robber for seven years

A Dublin raider who visited Cork to carry out an armed robbery at a gaming arcade was jailed for seven years today.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said there was an exceptional amount of good, methodical police work from gardaí Darragh Murray and Jimmy Smiddy leading to the arrest of Gavin Martin.

"There is no doubt this was a planned violent robbery. There was something cool and calculated about the way you set up the crime, playing a game in the arcade beforehand and going to a local bar mingling with the crowd afterwards," the judge said.

Garda Murray said that on the afternoon of August 30, 2007, Gavin Martin, with an address at Cois Coille, Loughlinstown Drive, Loughlinstown, Co Dublin, went to Leeside Leisure on Winthrop Street, Cork, and played a gaming machine for 20 minutes. He then reached into his rucksack and pulled on a balaclava and produced a handgun.

He pointed it at the head of one female member of staff standing outside a cash kiosk and also threatened her colleague in the kiosk with the gun.

Both women were in fear and one of them is still in counseling since the August robbery.

Martin then went to Scott’s Bar, changed his jacket in the toilet and returned to the bar to have two drinks.

Because the investigating gardaí were told that the culprit had a strong Dublin accent, they decided to go to Kent Station in time for the main 5.30pm train to Dublin and saw Martin boarding the train.

He had all of the €1,900 from the arcade in his bag and co-operated with the investigation.

Martin, aged 27, pleaded guilty to the robbery and producing the firearm. The gun was never recovered.

Blaise O’Carroll, senior counsel, said the defendant said that the gun was an imitation.

The judge said he was not inclined to believe this and did not think the gardaí believed it either.