A burglar who locked a 68-year-old man in a bathroom for over 10 hours has been jailed for five years by Judge Elizabeth Dunne at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Francis Isaacson of Bridge foot Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and burglary of Mr Patrick Early at Royal Terrace, Dun Laoghaire, and to burglary at Tivoli Road, Dun Laoghaire, in October 1999.
Isaacson spoke to his victim through the bathroom door and told him that he needed the money for drugs. He later told gardai he spent £1,000 a day on drugs and had taken £800 from the house to feed his habit. Judge Dunne described his crime as "appalling, unjustifiable and heinous".
Sgt Aidan Moynihan said he arrested Isaacson after noticing that he was wearing Mr Early's watch. At the time, Isaacson was being detained by gardai on another burglary charge.