Teenager sentenced to three years for stealing 24 bikes from Dublin 4 apartment blocks

A teenager who stole 24 bicycles from apartment blocks in Dublin 4 has been sentenced to three years in prison, with the final 16 months suspended.

Tyreece O’Farrell, of no fixed abode, had just turned 15 when he embarked on a six month bicycle theft spree in the Ballsbridge area, starting some days after Christmas in 2019.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Thursday that the bicycles ranged in value from €500 to €2,500 and included models such as Giant and Trek. Only one of the bicycles was recovered.

Judge Martin Nolan said it was a considerable number of thefts and that if O’Farrell had been older, he would have received a considerably longer sentence.

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The court heard that O’Farrell, who has just turned 18, has 29 previous convictions and suffers from drug addiction.

“I must infer that O’Farrell was stealing the bicycles to sell, probably to buy drugs,” said Judge Nolan.

Garda Anthony Moran told Fiona McGowan, prosecuting, that the bicycles had all been locked in underground car parks or at the outdoor areas of apartment buildings in the Ballsbridge area.

O’Farrell pleaded guilty to 24 thefts and two attempted thefts of bicycles between December 29th, 2019, and June 1st, 2020.

In a separate case, O’Farrell was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in a violent disorder in East Wall, Co Dublin, on November 17th, 2020.

CCTV footage of the incident was played in court, showing several people attacking cars and passengers, with a co-accused throwing wall cladding through a car window.

The court heard that the driver of one of the cars suffered a brain injury and spent nine days in hospital.

Three people, including O’Farrell, pleaded guilty to violent disorder while some others are facing trial in relation to the incident, including one charge of assault causing serious harm.

Garda Moran agreed with Alison Fox, defending, that O’Farrell was not the instigator of the violent disorder, nor had he thrown the wall cladding that caused the serious brain injury.

Ms Fox said her client was 15 at the time and had submitted an early guilty plea to both the bicycle thefts and the violent disorder.

She said O’Farrell is currently homeless but has strong support from his mother, who has herself overcome addiction issues.

Judge Nolan sentenced O’Farrell to 18 months for the violent disorder, to run concurrently with the effective 20-month sentence for bicycle theft.

He also ordered that O’Farrell be of good behaviour for 16 months on his release from prison and that he must place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for this period and obey all instructions from them.