Armed robber given seven years for gun possession

A convicted armed robber who was caught by a garda surveillance operation at the "handover" of a semiautomatic pistol has been given a six-year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Jason Flynn (aged 36) had recently been released from a seven-year sentence for robbery during which he threatened to shoot a garda who tried to arrest him after he took more than €17,000 from a National Irish Bank branch in 2002.

Flynn, of Huband Road, Bluebell, pleaded guilty to possession of a Glock semi auto pistol for unlawful purpose at St Vincents Street on December 14, 2007.

Judge Katherine Delahunt imposed a six-year sentence with the final two years suspended on strict conditions.

Garda Susan Kinsella, of the Organised Crime Unit, told Mr Shane Costelloe BL, prosecuting, that on foot of confidential information that Flynn would be involved in the handover of a weapon, gardaí set up a surveillance operation and followed him to Clanbrassil Street where he met with another man.

Gardaí followed the men for a distance then shouted: "Armed gardaí, stop!" The men began to run and Flynn was observed dropping a linen bag which was found to contain a pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition.

Gda Kinsella said Flynn had 20 previous convictions including a conviction in 2002 for possession of a firearm in the course of a bank robbery for which he received a seven-year sentence and a conviction for armed robbery in 1994 for which he received a 10-year sentence.

Mr Luigi Rea BL, defending, said Flynn had committed this offence shortly after being released from prison when he had found himself without a home or a job and fell into debt.

Flynn was jailed for seven years by Judge Frank O’Donnell at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in October 2002 for robbing €17,332 from the National Irish Bank, College Green, on January 28, 2002. The weapon used in the robbery transpired to be an imitation firearm.

Judge O’Donnell noted at that time that Flynn had been jailed for 10 years in 1994 for armed robbery and was released two years early. He said if Flynn had served the full sentence he would still have been in prison at the time of the 2002 robbery.

Flynn had done a drug rehabilitation course while in custody but was back on drugs and re-offending 10 months after his release in 2001.

Flynn’s counsel at the 2002 sentence, Mr Brendan Grehan BL, said Flynn’s parents had both been chronic drug addicts. His mother died in 1993 of heroin-related complications and his father died a year later of a drug overdose in Mountjoy prison in 1994.

At a young age Flynn and his siblings were sent to England to be reared by a relative. He, however, returned to Dublin after a short time and became engaged in drugs himself.