Repeat robber gets no further jail time

A drug addict who robbed the same building society twice and then headbutted a garda when he escaped from court will not spend any extra time in prison because of his current 20-year sentence for other offences.

Jason Smith (aged 35) was given the total of 20 years in consecutive sentences last March for seven robberies he committed to pay €25,000 to "people you don’t want to mess with".

Smith, of Foxdene Drive, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbing the EBS office in Drumcondra on December 6, 2006 and March 2, 2007.

He also admitted escaping from lawful custody at Kilmainham District Court and assault causing harm to Garda David Gibson, on the same occasion on December 5, 2007.

Judge Patrick McCarten agreed with defence counsel, Mr Breffni Gordon BL, that society would not be served by adding to Smith’s sentence and imposed four years each for the robberies and two years for the escape and assault to run concurrently with Smith’s current term.

Smith who has been abusing drugs since he was 13 and has been HIV positive for the last 18 years. His 50 previous convictions include 29 for robbery.

Sergeant Karen Henry told Mr James Dwyer BL, prosecuting, that Smith was in the holding cells of Kilmainham District Court with two other prisoners on December 5, 2007 and when the garda on duty went to bring him up for his hearing, Smith and the second prisoner pushed the third prisoner into him.

The garda was pushed back against the wall while Smith and the other man ran past him and out the side door of the court. Garda Gibson, who was in court at the time, gave chase and was told by a passer-by that the men had run towards Kilmainham Museum.

He waved down a passing van and the driver drove him towards the museum. Garda Gibson chased the two prisoners over a seven foot wall and as they tried to scale another wall, he grabbed them by their waists but was kicked in the head by one of them.

Sgt Henry said the second prisoner then ran away while Garda Gibson and Smith wrestled on the ground. Smith head butted Garda Gibson twice, chipping his teeth, before being restrained with the help of the van driver who then went out to the road to alert following Garda units.

Smith became "aggressive and abusive" and broke free again before being tackled to the ground again.

Sgt Henry said Garda Gibson suffered a torn calf muscle, chipped teeth and bad bruising in the incident and was off work for two months.

Mr Gordon said Smith said he had taken a "substantial amount of alcohol" in the cells before escaping but Sgt Henry replied: "That’s the first I heard about it."

Detective Garda Paul Fahy said Smith and another man robbed the EBS in December 2006 armed with a knife and a screwdriver. The teller handed over €1,234 but the man with the knife demanded more and when told that was all the cash in the office, the men "walked casually out."

Det. Garda Fahy continued that Smith and an accomplice were given €2,207 when they threatened the EBS teller with a screwdriver in the following March. Smith shouted "more, more, more" and said "let’s go" when he saw he had taken all the cash.

Smith was identified in CCTV footage from the second robbery and arrested for both offences. He made no admissions when interviewed.