Three raiders have been imprisoned for their early-morning invasion of a family home, where they terrorised a couple in their 70s, their daughter, and a six-year-old kid, reports Breaking News.
In Monkstown, County Dublin, Michael Royal (48), Thomas Dwyer (24), and Patrick Fitzgerald (48) were with another unnamed man when they broke into his house, bound him, pulled his wife, daughter, and grandchild from their beds, and began demanding things, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Tuesday.
The man was struck in the head by a metal rod during the violent house invasion, for which no cause has ever been found, and his daughter was pulled around by her hair when she attempted to flee, reports Breaking News.
Detective Superintendent Brian O’Keeffe said the court that one of the men had made demands on the man regarding a bank he had formerly worked for, but that the man had been retired for 20 years and was unable to supply any information.
On August 21, 2023, Royal, of Tyrone Place, Inchicore; Dwyer, of Valeview Drive, Finglas; and Fitzgerald, of Glenties Park, Finglas, entered guilty pleas to one count of wrongful imprisonment and one count of aggravated burglary at a residence in Monkstown, Co Dublin. Both felonies have a potential penalty of life in prison, reports Breaking News.
Royal has 50 prior convictions, including significant drug crimes, robberies, and burglaries. Dwyer had been convicted of 25 prior crimes, including drug and traffic violations.
Fitzgerald has been convicted of 67 prior offences, including stealing, public order violations, and violent conduct. The three males are being held, reports Breaking News.
Judge Martin Nolan said the incident was a “terrifying experience” for all of the house’s inhabitants when he sentenced them on Tuesday.
“It’s not clear why these four men came to this particular house,” the judge said. “It’s not clear why they picked on this particular family and these particular victims,” reports Breaking News.
He pointed out that because the incident’s leader has not been identified, they have not yet faced charges. He said that an attack on a man in his seventies and bogus incarceration made the offence extremely severe.
Judge Nolan imposed a 10-and-a-half-year headline sentence. He pointed out that compared to Dwyer, who was 23 at the time of the offence, Royal and Fitzgerald had more convictions overall and more significant convictions, reports Breaking News.
He sentenced Dwyer to five and a half years in prison, citing his relative youth and lack of prior convictions.
According to the court, the family’s horror began when someone knocked on the door at around 8.20 a.m. on the relevant day. A man wearing a hi-vis vest charged into the house as soon as the homeowner opened the door, followed by three more individuals, reports Breaking News.
The confrontation was said to have been started by the individual who forced his way inside. According to prosecutor Lisa Dempsey BL, he has not yet been identified. Fitzgerald, Dwyer, and Royal were the other three men.
The man’s hands were cable-tied in front of him while he was forced to sit in his dining room, reports Breaking News.
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