A CONVICTED murderer who tied a man up and threatened him at knifepoint has received a 10- year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Michael Downes (43), who is serving a life sentence for the murder of 50-year-old Finbar Dennehy in September 2007, bound his victim with tape and robbed him of €230 in cash, an ATM card and two mobiles after meeting him through a gay chat room.
Downes, formerly of Marian Avenue, Ennis, pleaded guilty to the robbery and false imprisonment of the man in Grangegorman on August 10th, 2007.
Det Garda Damien McCormick told Martina Baxter, prosecuting, that the victim came into contact with Downes after replying to a message he had left on a chat line.
The victim told gardaí that he invited Downes into his apartment for sex, after having met him briefly earlier in the week and exchanging text messages.
Downes arrived at his apartment unshaven with a black sports bag; after he had taken a seat on a couch, he told the victim to get undressed. The victim complied, as Downes had made the request in a “non-threatening” manner.
Downes then pulled his victim close, produced a two-pronged kitchen knife and forced his victim to lie face down on the couch, telling him: “Don’t fight me, if you fight me I’ll f**king kill you”.
Downes then rifled through the victim’s possessions, taking his wallet and ATM card while he lay prone on the couch, his hands and ankles trussed with tape and flex.
Det Garda McCormick said Downes, who has 21 previous convictions including six for blackmail, five for theft and one each for sexual assault and murder, had left his victim “extremely shaken”.
Paul Greene SC, defending, said Downes was aware he had hurt his victim, his victim’s family and his own family and that he “deeply regretted” having done so.
Mr Greene said that Downes had come from a small town in the west of Ireland, where his sexual orientation was not common, and that he was troubled by this as well as a difficult family background.
Mr Greene said his client had instructed him not to divulge anything further save that Downes was “ready to be punished”.
Judge Patrick McCartan said Downes had committed a very serious offence arming himself with a knife and tying up his victim. He said his personal difficulties or sense of grievance could not explain the robbery.