A 24-year-old Dublin man has been jailed for five years for attacking two former girlfriends, coercive control of one of them, as well as threatening to stab a taxi driver and hijacking his taxi.
The court heard that the armed support and helicopter unit had to surround David McNamara’s house in order for gardaí to arrest him, after two failed attempts.
McNamara, with an address at Kiltalown Road in Tallaght, was sentenced at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Monday. He had pleaded guilty to a number of offences.
These included assaulting his then 16-year-old girlfriend while on his way to a court appearance in the city centre on September 23rd, 2019.
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He also pleaded guilty to assaulting another girlfriend and coercive control of her at his home between July 17th and 19th, 2023, and of hijacking a taxi and threatening to kill the driver on July 20th, 2023.
The final plea he entered was for having drugs for sale or supply at the time of his arrest for that offence on September 5th, 2023 at Finglas Garda station.
Garda Shane Gallagher told the court that McNamara carried out the first attack on his teenage girlfriend while on his way to a court appearance in the Criminal Courts of Justice in Dublin in September 2019.
He was driving, and she asked him to drop her off at the Luas, but he stopped in the Phoenix Park and told her to get out. When she threatened to tell gardaí he was driving without tax and insurance, he drove off again and she was unable to get out of the car.
He grabbed her, tried to choke her and pushed her head to the floor. She tried to pull the handbrake and get the attention of other road users by blowing the horn but was unsuccessful.
He threatened her and they ended up at an unknown location, where he kicked her, pulled her hair and used a broken gear stick to choke her.
She managed to get out and flag down a truck driver, who drove them both to different parts of Tallaght.
The girl’s mother reported the incident to gardaí the next day, and sent them photos of her injuries.
When gardaí put the allegation of choking her and pushing her head to the floor of the car, he replied: “It would have been good if I had been able to do that.”
He denied the charges and was granted bail. He was arrested when he failed to turn up for his court date but was granted bail again and later pleaded guilty.
The court heard that he carried out the next attack almost four years later when his new partner was living with him at his home in Tallaght. He kicked her and caused severe bruising to her leg, and told her what she could and couldn’t do.
The hijacking came about the following day, when the couple was at her home in Finglas and ordered a taxi to McNamara’s home in Tallaght.
Once the taxi was on the M50, the injured party caught the driver’s attention from the back seat. McNamara got out and told the driver to “leave the car before I stick a knife in your throat”.
The driver told gardaí that the taxi was his only source of income. However, he genuinely thought McNamara was going to stab him, and he had three children at home, so he didn’t retaliate.
He grabbed his phone and both he and the woman managed to get out of the taxi. McNamara got into the driver’s seat and took off at speed.
The driver called gardaí and the taxi was later found damaged and abandoned near McNamara’s home.
When gardaí arrived, the woman initially denied knowing McNamara but was later interviewed by a specialist, who assessed her as “particularly vulnerable”.
Gardaí had to go to McNamara’s home in Tallaght three times before arresting him. He fled out the back on the first two occasions.
On the second occasion, gardaí had a warrant, but he offered “significant resistance”. Although the house was surrounded, he took shelter in a neighbour’s property and the neighbour did not co-operate with gardaí.
The gardaí returned on a later date with the armed support unit and the garda helicopter, and McNamara was finally arrested. When taken into Finglas Garda station, the possessions he handed over included two bags of drug deals, containing €266 of cocaine and €308 of heroin. Cash worth €155 was also handed over. He claimed he was holding the drugs for a friend.
Garda Gallagher told the court that the victim had made attempts to withdraw her statement, but that he had colleagues organised to take her to court on the day of the trial in an unmarked car. However, McNamara then pleaded guilty.
The court heard that he has previous convictions for drugs possession and assault.
His defence counsel said he was 22 at the time of the second offence, and has a history of substance abuse. He also had difficulties in his childhood and education.
He said that while it might be cold comfort to the women, he offered his apologies to them.
Judge Martin Nolan said the assaults on the two women were vicious and troubling.
He sentenced him to a total of five years in prison to run from today.
