Man jailed for attempted raid on bookmaker

A man who carried out an attempted armed raid on a bookmakers, days after being released from jail with a newly-acquired heroin addiction, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Jonathan Donovan (aged 23) had just served a sentence for assaulting a garda when he tried to rob William Hill’s betting office in Dublin’s Parkgate Street. He was armed with what he described as a "gas gun" while his then 17-year-old accomplice, Gavin Kelly, had a machete.

Donovan later made full admissions to gardaí and identified Kelly as the other raider.

Three days later, before the gardaí had made any other enquires, Kelly’s mother escorted him to the garda station where he confessed to his role in the robbery.

Both men with addresses at O’Devany Gardens, North Circular Road, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon on April 21, 2008.

Donovan, who had 53 previous convictions, also admitted to driving a stolen Honda Civic, while Kelly (aged 19) admitted to allowing himself to be carried in the vehicle.

Judge Desmond Hogan suspended the last 12 months of Donovan’s sentence on condition that he undergo drug treatment under the supervision of the probation service. He adjourned Kelly’s sentencing to July and ordered an updated probation report for that date.

Mr Derek Cooney BL, defending Kelly, said that while his client had 17 previous convictions they were all committed in a concentrated period of time when he "exploded onto the garda radar" following the death of his grandfather in a house fire.

He told Judge Hogan that Kelly started taking tablets after the man’s death and his drinking went out of control. He acknowledged that while the first convictions were minor, Kelly’s level of offending behaviour got progressively worse.

Mr Cooney said that his client came from a very supportive family and his mother had effectively "shopped her own son" because she wanted to teach him to be responsible for his actions.

He told Judge Hogan that the family were hopeful that the time Kelly has now spent in custody will be of benefit to him and he will be able to get back on "the straight and narrow" once he is released.

Mr Damien Colgan BL, defending Donovan, said that his client had developed a heroin addiction while in prison and had been released in April 2008 with "little or no support".

He said that since his remand in custody his client had dealt with his addiction and had also raised €3,000 for Crumlin Children’s Hospital through a sponsored run in the prison gym with other inmates.

Garda James King told Ms Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that Donovan approached the counter of William Hill armed with the gun and with his face covered with a white bandage. Kelly remained standing behind him.

One of the workers pushed his female colleague into the back office for safety where she pressed the panic alarm and called 999.

The raiders tried to smash the glass of the counter and kick in the door that led into the tills but they were unsuccessful and ran out of the shop. Staff were later able to give gardaí a description of the getaway car.

Gda King said that he soon came across the Civic but Donovan refused to stop when ordered to do so. This led to a short pursuit before they abandoned the vehicle in O' Devany Gardens and both men fled the scene.

Donovan was arrested minutes later in a stairwell of some nearby flats and was taken to the local station where he first claimed that the raid had been a joke.

He later admitted that he and Kelly had armed themselves with the intention of robbing the shop for money for drugs. He said he had been stupid and should never have done it.

Kelly later told gardaí that he had been "out of my head all weekend" after taking drink and tablets. He said after the garda chase he had gone to his Aunt’s house where he changed his clothes and burned those he had been wearing.