A robber who swung a meat cleaver at gardaí attempting to catch him last November has been given a 3½-year sentence with the final nine months suspended.
Judge Elma Sheahan commended the “extremely brave and impressive” efforts of gardaí to catch Ciaran Kenny (20).
Gardaí Cathal McGeoghan and David Currivan were manning a checkpoint in Crumlin, Dublin, when they were told two armed men had just entered a nearby shop.
They chased the men in their car and then on foot and used pepper spray on several occasions when it appeared they were going to be attacked. One man was arrested by Garda McGeoghan while another was spotted by the Garda helicopter hiding in a back garden.
Kenny, of Lourdes Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery and production of a meat cleaver in Crumlin on November 30th, 2015.
The judge imposed a sentence and suspended the final nine months on condition that Kenny engage with the Probation Service. She ordered that any time in custody be taken into account.
Garda McGeoghan told prosecuting counsel Eilis Brennan that Kenny and his accomplice entered a Spar shop with their faces covered. Kenny had a meat cleaver and the other man had a metal bar.
They threatened the cashiers before escaping with nearly €400. The two gardaí arrived in a patrol car as the men left the shop. Garda McGeoghan pepper-sprayed the men while sitting in the car as he was in fear of his safety.
Throwing away masks
As the robbers fled, Garda McGeoghan chased them on foot while Garda Currivan tried to cut them off in the patrol car. Kenny and the other man were seen throwing away coins and their face masks as they ran.
The Garda car cut them off nearby and the men turned and raised their weapons. Garda McGeoghan pepper-sprayed the man with the iron bar, who he believed to be the bigger threat. This man was arrested while Garda Currivan chased Kenny over a wall.
The garda lost sight of him but the helicopter was overhead and spotted Kenny hiding in a garden. He was arrested shortly afterwards. The meat cleaver was found nearby
Defence counsel John Moher said his client pleaded guilty at an early stage. He said that despite his 20 previous convictions, Kenny still had the capacity to reform himself.
Mr Moher said he was instructed to convey his client’s apologies. He said Kenny was a father of a four-year-old child and no longer wanted to live a life going in and out of custody.
