15-year-old youth’s crime spree like something from ‘gangster movie’ says judge.

By Tom Tuite

A judge has compared the crimes of a 15-year-old burglar who threw a knife at a home owner and threatened to come back and shoot him to “a gangster movie”.

The Dublin boy took part in two house burglaries immediately after he was released from a Garda station. In another incident he smashed up three cars after being dropped at the scene and afterwards was collected by an adult accomplice, the Dublin Children’s Court.

Judge John O’Connor praised investigating gardai who had obtained DNA evidence and CCTV footage in connection with the incidents.

The boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, pleaded guilty to offences at houses in Terenure in south Dublin on the morning of Dec. 1 last at Derravaragh Road and nearby Hazelbrook Drive.

The teenager had been released from Terenure Garda station at 5.19am and then carried out a series of offences in close proximity to that station.

Garda Ian Dempsey told the court the burglary at Derravaragh Road happened at 6.35 am when the boy and a co-accused gained entry to a house before they proceeded into the kitchen and living area.

They took a number of items including a laptop, a mobile phone, a kitchen knife and some prescription medication.

Garda Dempsey said when the home owner confronted them the boy, “threatened that he would come back and shoot him”.

“At this point by his own admission in interview he admitted throwing a kitchen knife at the home owner whilst absconding,” Garda Dempsey said.

The court heard that at 7.38am the teenager tried to gain entry to a house at Hazelbrook Drive and took an envelope containing €17 which was found discarded at another house in the area which also had its front door letterbox damaged that morning.

Defence barrister Alison Fynes asked the court to note that no physical injuries were caused to anyone and that the teenager had been under the influence of substances. The Garda agreed with counsel that the boy the teenager was co-operative when arrested.

The boy also pleaded guilty to criminally damaging three cars on a date last November at Goldenbridge Industrial Estate. The court was shown CCTV evidence of the boy smashing in windows in the cars causing €785 worth of damage.

Investigating Garda Nicola Gorman agreed the teen had been under the influence of an older male who had driven to the location and dropped the boy there and then collected him later.

The boy’s DNA was recovered from one of the vandalised cars and was also on a discarded package taken during the burglaries.

Judge O’Connor noted the involvement of an older male and remarked that some adult offenders believed they could use children “to do their dirty work”, which he described as “abhorrent”, and that they would get a light sentence.

“This looks like something from a gangster movie, it is awful”, he said.

The teenager spoke briefly during the hearing to confirm he understood the charges and that he was not seeking a trial by jury.

Judge John O’Connor adjourned the case for three weeks for a pre-sentence probation to be prepared.

The teen was accompanied to court by his mother. At an earlier bail hearing she had told the court her son had been hanging around with much older people, adults involved in drugs.