Limerick woman jailed for role in  'daylight robbery' of 61-year-old man

This type of 'daylight robbery' was now prevalent on Limerick’s streets, Judge O’Donnell said at Limerick Circuit Court. Picture: Dan Linehan

A woman has been jailed for 18 months for the "daylight robbery" of a 61-year-old man at his front door after following him home.

In one of Judge Tom O’Donnell’s final cases before he retired on Tuesday, he sentenced Kacey Hayes, aged 31, to 18 months in jail at Limerick Circuit Court on Tuesday for her part in the robbery of the man of a Nokia phone and €60.

The victim had been pushed to the ground and attacked outside his home. 

Hayes, of 37 Lee Estate, Limerick, had kicked the man but her co-accused, another woman, had been the main instigator of the violence, punching and kicking the victim, Limerick Circuit Court heard. 

The other woman was previously sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for the offence.

The women had “spotted” the man as he walked through the park on September 1, 2022, and followed him back to his home on Barrington St, Limerick.

CCTV images captured the injured party lying on the ground by the front door to the home, with the two women standing and leaning over him.

Hayes has nine previous convictions for public order, theft and aggravated burglary, all dealt with at District Court level, the court heard.

This type of “daylight robbery” was now prevalent on Limerick’s streets, Judge O’Donnell said.

It was “abundantly clear” that the victim had been targeted and this was an aggravating factor, he said.

Although the other woman was the more serious protagonist, the accused was also “an active participant”, Judge O’Donnell said.

The victim had been attacked and knocked to the ground outside his front door, which was also an aggravating factor, he said.

Ms Hayes had been on bail at the time of the offence, which was another aggravating factor, he said.

Judge O’Donnell said he believed a custodial sentence was warranted.

In a robbery of this nature, the headline sentence could be up to four years, he said.

However, given the accused’s approach and her personal circumstances he sentenced her to two-and-a-half years in prison — suspending the last 12 months.

Judge O’Donnell denied counsel's request to have Hayes' sentence deferred by one week, saying that it was “a very serious charge”.

The judge has become embroiled in controversy since serving soldier Cathal Crotty walked free with a suspended sentence in his courtroom last week after beating Natasha O’Brien unconscious in an unprovoked attack in Limerick in 2022. He retired from the bench on Tuesday, one day before he was due to do so.