A Dublin youth, who phoned gardaí begging them to call off a pursuit after hitting speeds of 200km/h in a stolen Audi A4, has received a six-month sentence.
The then 17-year-old boy, who stole the car during a burglary in Boyle, Co Roscommon, drove on the wrong side of the M4 before gardaí deployed two stinger devices to stop him after a 150km chase which ended on the outskirts of Dublin.
Judge John O’Connor at the Dublin Children’s Court praised the “sterling work” of gardaí in stopping the teenager who had asked the court, via his lawyer, not to give him another sentence.
The court heard, the defendant who has now turned 18, already has 67 convictions mostly for motoring offences and was already serving a custodial sentence due to end in January.
He had been arrested following a chase which began in Boyle, Co Roscommon and came to a halt in Lucan, Dublin on March 14th last.
The youth pleaded guilty to burglary, motor theft, dangerous driving at Kinnegad, Co Westmeath, Clonard and Enfield in Co Meath, and at Moyvalley in Co Kildare. He also admitted causing criminal damage to a garda car in Lucan.
In evidence, Garda Eoin Brehony told the court that a 10-registered Audi A4 was stolen during the course of a house burglary in Boyle. The car was driven towards Dublin on the N4 and M4.
Garda Brehony had taken up position at about 1.10am at Kinnegad. He attempted to stop the stolen car with a stinger device. However, the teenager performed a U-turn on the motorway and then drove in the wrong direction back along the M4 and dangerously exited at The Downs near Mullingar.
Garda Brehony said at this point “the vehicle went to ground for a couple of hours”. At 5.20am he observed the Audi passing Kinnegad, this time along the old N4 road towards Clonard where there is a 80km/ph speed limit. Garda Brehony signalled him to stop but he kept driving and at times reached speeds of 200km/h.
At Enfield the youth went back onto the M4 motorway. There was another attempt to stop him with a stinger device at Kilcock. He also smashed through a toll barrier.
‘Unusual thing’
“An unusual thing happened at that stage, the defendant rang gardaí himself and asked us to stop chasing him,” Garda Brehony said.
The youth pulled over and was arrested at Lucan. Garda Brehony agreed with defence counsel Ann Sheridan that he was co-operative following his arrest.
Ms Sheridan said the teenager had a supportive family but he fell through the cracks after he left school early and there had been a pattern of offending for two years however he did not have drug or alcohol problems.
Judge O’Connor said the accused had “a horrendous amount of prior criminal convictions for an 18-year-old”. He said he was no longer subject to the jurisdiction of the Children’s Court but he would take into account that the incidents happened when he was a juvenile but the idea that he would not get a custodial sentence was wrong. He said the teen was a bully and did not show remorse.
The judge imposed a six-month custodial sentence to commence when the teen’s current term in custody expires.
He also imposed a six-year road ban and ordered that the youth was to remain supervised by the Probation Service for the next two years.
The teenager also pleaded guilty to another dangerous driving charge during which he mounted a footpath in Clondalkin on February 23th last. He was spotted after gardaí heard the sound of screeching tyres and that pursuit ended when he crashed into a wall. He also admitted charges of driving without a licence or insurance on the same date as well as on two other occasions.
He also admitted stealing €40 worth of petrol on a date last year.