Five years for man who held up three shops in an hour and a half

A Lucan man who held up three shops within an hour and a half, during which he put a gun to one shop assistant's head, has been given a five-year sentence.

Niall Healy (aged 22) made full admissions to the robberies several days after, telling gardaí he was sick of getting into trouble and wanted to go into drug rehab so he could "live like a normal person".

Healy, of Woodview Estate, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to an attempted robbery in Spar in Leixlip and robbery of Shell Garage and Spar in Clonsilla on November 2, 2006.

Healy is serving a four-year sentence imposed last May for setting fire to a car wash in a petrol station and robbing the same shop 18 months later armed with a golf club. He was due to be released in April 2009.

Judge Katherine Delahunt noted that Healy was on bail from the arson charge at the time of the robberies and said she was forced to order that the five years run consecutively to his current term. She suspended the final 18 months on strict conditions.

Garda John McKenna told Ms Martina Baxter BL, prosecuting, that Healy and his co-accused, Breandan Guy, entered the Leixlip Spar at 8.35pm. Healy walked over to the counter and took a gun out while his co-accused watched the door.

Healy told a staff member: "Give me the money or I will f**king kill you" but the men ran away empty-handed when an alarm was activated.

At about 9.30pm Healy, carrying a gun, and a co-accused entered the Shell Garage in Clonsilla and Healy shouted at a staff member behind the counter: "Give me the money or I will blow your head off."

Healy grabbed a second staff member, put the gun to the side of his head and threatened to shoot him. The other staff member became enraged and when he came out from the counter the two men took flight without any money.

Healy entered Spar in Lucan at about 9.45pm with a scarf over his face and he was told he would not be served until he removed it. He pulled a knife out of his belt and told the staff member: "If you don’t open the till I will jam this in your throat." He made off with €190 cash.

Healy and his co-accused were arrested shortly afterwards at Guy’s home and the money recovered. Healy punched one of the gardaíi in the face as he was being taken to the cells in the Garda station.

Garda McKenna agreed with defence counsel Mr Bernard Condon BL that Healy, who has 26 previous convictions, had presented himself again at the Garda station seven days later and made full admissions in relation to all the offences.

He agreed Healy told them: "I want to finish with the gardaíi, I am sick of getting into trouble". Healy said he wanted to go into a drug treatment programmes and "live like a normal person". He said he wished to apologised to all he had hurt.

Mr Joesph Healy told Mr Condon that no one else in his family had been in trouble with the gardaí. He said Healy began to hang around with "the wrong people" when he was in transition year and as well as getting involved in drugs.

Mr Healy agreed with a psychiatrist's report that his son was "immature impressionable without a great deal of sense". He said when his son had developed behavioural problems the family had looked for help but got none.

He said his son was getting "a bit of cop-on" as he got older. He said his son realised "drugs are not doing him any good, they are going to destroy him".

Mr Condon said Healy’s voluntary admissions suggested he was "not a hardened criminal but was capable of and worth rehabilitating." He said he had good family support and genuine desire to turn over a new leaf.