A 21-year old man subjected two circus workers to a horrific ordeal at knifepoint days after he was released from prison, a court has heard.
John Sheehy, of St Munchin's Avenue, St Mary's Park, Limerick has been jailed for five years for the false imprisonment and robbery of two Circus Vegas workers who were in Ireland to promote the upcoming visit of the circus to Limerick.
Darren Jack and Dean Mignowelli had been out in Limerick city in the early hours of February 1st, 2014 when they met a group of youths in a busy night club area on Robert Street who invited them to continue socialising.
They were brought to nearby Johnsgate where they were taken down an alleyway and brought into the rear of a house where one of the youths pulled out a knife and said: “You are getting robbed.”
One of the victims, Darren Jack was thrown into a shed and the court heard that one of the gang said:
“You are in my city now, I am a member of the IRA,” before stealing his money and phone.
The second circus worker managed to escape and got a taxi to the B&B where they had been staying.
Meanwhile, Mr Jack was quizzed about his bank account and how much was in it. As he was being questioned, the men hit him a number ot times in the face, the court heard.
The gang then brought Mr Jack to an ATM at a petrol station, where he managed to escape, hailed a cab and went directly to a Garda station.
The court heard both circus workers were due to be in Ireland for three weeks to promote the visit of Circus Vegas but returned to the UK following the incident in Limerick.
Judge Tom O’Donnell described the ordeal as vicious and said it was a “planned and premeditated assault, which must have been extremely frightening for the two victims who feared for their lives”.
“The psychological aspect is of serious concern and the use of a weapon is a very serious and aggravating factor,” Judge O’Donnell added.
Mr Jack told gardaí he had a knife put to his face and was convinced he was going to be killed, and pleaded for his life on behalf of his wife and children.
Judge O’Donnell noted Sheehy - who denied using the knife but admitted his involvement - had just been released from prison 10 days before hand after serving an 11-month sentence for robbery.
Jailing Sheehy for five years, Judge O’Donnell said the crime had involved two innocent parties who were in Limerick as “visitors to our city and subjected to this appalling experience”.