A man who robbed a Cork post office to get money to pay a €50,000 drug debt to criminals has been jailed for 2½ years.
John Paul Carey (32) from Brooklodge Grove, Glanmire, Co Cork pleaded guilty on Wednesday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to robbery at Little Island post office in Cork on May 23rd, 2019.
Det Garda Edmond O’Donoghue told the court that Carey, a heroin addict, was under intense pressure at the time to pay off a €50,000 debt to Dublin criminals after they threatened him and his partner.
He said the criminals had fired a number of gunshots at his partner’s house and had threatened to pipe bomb the property unless Carey came up with money to pay off the debt.
Carey decided with two other males to carry out a robbery at Little Island post office. On the day in question, Carey and another male went into the post office armed with a wheel brace and imitation firearm.
They demanded money from a female member of staff and got away with €300 in €5 notes. They made their getaway in a black Mondeo driven by a third man which gardaí later found abandoned.
Det Garda O’Donoghue said that gardaí arrested Carey later that day in Glanmire Shopping Centre and he co-operated with investigators, showing them where he had disposed of the imitation firearm.
“When arrested, he was in a car with two known criminals from Dublin, paying over the money to them,” said Det Garda O’Donoghue, who confirmed Carey has been in custody since he was arrested and charged with the offence.
Defence barrister Paula McCarthy BL said that her client became addicted to heroin after a family tragedy. She said he had turned his life around in prison and was now on a methadone programme.
Apology
Det Garda O’Donoghue acknowledged that Carey had written a letter of apology to the female member of staff working in the post office on the day, who was traumatised by the experience.
Judge James McCourt said he accepted Carey’s early guilty plea as a mitigating factor as was his assistance to investigating gardaí.
He also said he accepted that Carey had been under considerable duress at the time given his drugs debt and the threats he received.
Judge McCourt noted Carey’s remorse as evidenced by his letter of apology to the woman. He also noted that there was a positive probation report on how he was addressing his drug addiction.
Judge McCourt said he believed the appropriate sentence was 4½ years but he would suspend the final two years in light of the mitigating factors.
