Jail for man who stabbed pensioner

A pensioner who was stabbed in the legs at his home in Cork City and believed he was going to die saw his attacker jailed for five years yesterday.

Roy Miller Snr, 32, was given a sentence of six years, with the last year suspended, by Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Miller pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including assault causing harm to the victim, after the aggravated burglary at the home of the pensioner at Christmas.

Garda Brian Holland said the crimes were carried out over two days when the defendant called to the victim’s home on two different occasions.

First, he threatened the victim to hand over money to him. He followed him around his house and produced the leg of a chair from his sleeve and threatened him with it, forcing the 66-year-old, who was known to him, to hand over €160, and later another €100.

The defendant also told him to withdraw €7,500 from his credit union account the following day and that if he did not do so, the defendant would burn down his house and “get someone to sort you out”. The following day, Miller returned looking for that money. The pensioner told him he did not have it, and would not be getting it.

“Roy Miller put a knife to his throat, threatening to stab him in the throat. He said he would burn his house down and stab him in the head,” the guard said.

At one stage during the violent incident, the victim fell into a chair and the defendant started to stab him in the legs with the knife. The victim was frightened and thought he was going to be murdered. The defendant pulled the cable for a landline phone from the wall and took the €148 that was in the victim’s wallet.

There was a knock at the door and the defendant would not let the pensioner answer it. Gardaí had received a call from neighbours, who heard noise from the house. The defendant then escaped through a back door, but was arrested an hour later. Gardaí arranged for the victim to be taken to hospital by ambulance.

Garda Brian Holland said the defendant had a previous robbery conviction from November 2010 where he produced a broken cup and threatened a pregnant woman working in a pub. He got a four-year sentence with half it suspended on that occasion.

Ray Boland, defence barrister, said the defendant’s offending stemmed from difficulties with alcohol.

Judge Ó Donnabháin said: “There is no doubt about it, these are matters of the utmost gravity. A householder attacked, injured, and abused in his own home.

“This obviously placed the victim in terror to be approached like this is your own home when you are living alone. Not alone was he approached with a knife, but he was stabbed with this knife. The only thing in his (the defendant’s) favour is that he pleaded guilty.”

He was sentenced for offences including aggravated burglary, attempted robbery, assault causing harm, and threatening to commit criminal damage.

Miller, of 3 Peacock Row, North Monastery Road, Cork, carried out the offences at a house at Cathedral Road, Gurranabraher, Cork, on December 17 and 18 2018 and has been in custody since that time.