A father of five who was part of a group of men who hijacked a taxi in Cork, threatened its 75-year-old driver with a knife and bundled him out of the vehicle has been jailed for four years.
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard the taxi driver believed he was “going to die” on the evening of January 26th, 2024, when he was subjected to the “terrifying” ordeal.
One of the three men who got into his taxi in the city put a knife up to his face and neck and threatened him. He was subsequently thrown out of the vehicle at Monard in Rathpeacon, Co Cork.
Judge Helen Boyle said Anthony Hornibrook (39) was one of three men who had caused considerable trauma to the taxi driver.
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She told Mr Hornibrook (39) she had viewed the “terrifying” dashcam footage of what had occurred.
Judge Boyle described the taxi driver as a “brave man” who had never experienced an incident of this kind in 35 years of driving taxis in Cork.
The taxi driver told her the assault on him was “life-changing” and that the “trauma” of the incident would never leave him.
He said the men had stolen his livelihood and he was “not the same person”. He said he was extremely grateful to the people who came to his assistance when he was injured after having been bundled out of his vehicle.
He said that in addition to the trauma suffered, the men “stole his livelihood” and caused him a financial burden.
Mr Hornibrook, of Killala Gardens, Knocknaheeny, Cork, previously pleaded guilty to a number of charges in relation to the incident.
Mr Hornibrook also pleaded guilty to four shoplifting offences, all of which occurred between January 20th and 30th, 2024. He stole goods totalling €370 from Blarney Woollen Mills, worth €925 from JD Sports in Mahon Point, €378 from Dunnes in Merchant’s Quay and €390 from Tommy Hilfiger in Cork city.
The court heard the thefts occurred as part of a “10-day spree” which the accused undertook to pay for drugs.
Judge Boyle was told Mr Hornibrook was now drug-free and doing well in prison. She jailed him for four and a half years, suspending the final six months of the sentence. She also disqualified Mr Hornibrook from driving for a period of seven years.
