The People (At the Suit of the DPP) v Christopher Jones
| Jurisdiction | Ireland |
| Judge | Mr Justice Edwards |
| Judgment Date | 23 November 2021 |
| Neutral Citation | [2021] IECA 353 |
| Docket Number | Record No: 50CJA/21 |
| Year | 2021 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Ireland) |
In the Matter of an Application Pursuant to Section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1993
[2021] IECA 353
Edwards J.
McCarthy J.
Kennedy J.
Record No: 50CJA/21
THE COURT OF APPEAL
JUDGMENT of the Court delivered on the 23rd day of November 2021 by Mr Justice Edwards
The respondent the subject of this appeal appeared before for sentencing in Cork Circuit Criminal Court on the 15th of February, 2021 on seven signed pleas of guilty from the 27th of October 2020, relating to one offence of aggravated burglary contrary to s. 13(1) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001, five counts of burglary contrary to s.12(1)(b) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001 and one count of impersonating a member of An Garda Síochána contrary to s. 60 of the Garda Síochána Act, 2005.
In April 2018 the respondent received a three-year sentence of imprisonment for an offence of robbery, the final 12 months of which was suspended for two years, from Cork Circuit Criminal Court. The further offending the subject matter of the sentencing by Cork Circuit Criminal Court on the 15th of February 2021 was committed during the currency of the said suspended period. In consequence of this the applicant had caused the robbery matter to be re-entered before Cork Circuit Criminal Court pursuant to section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006.
Upon learning that the respondent had further offended in breach of the terms on foot of which the sentence for the robbery had been partially suspended, the sentencing judge lifted the suspension of the final 12-months of the robbery sentence. However, he backdated the activated 12-month period then to be served to the 27th of October 2020 which was the date on which the respondent pleaded guilty to the further offences.
The respondent was then further sentenced to five years imprisonment, with the final year suspended, in respect of each of the seven offences for which he was then before the court for sentencing, which sentences were to run concurrently inter se but consecutive to the 12-month sentence activated on foot of the s.99 re-entry.
The applicant now seeks a review of the sentences imposed, pursuant to s. 2 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1993 (the Act of 1993), on the basis that those sentences were unduly lenient.
The court heard evidence from Detective Sergeant Young in which he outlined the circumstances of each offence.
The first offence occurred on the 9th of April 2020 when the respondent, who was carrying a baseball bat, and a co-accused entered the premises of Jonathan and Patrick Curtain on 7A Great William O'Brien Street at 4.20am. Jonathan Curtain was awoken by the sound of voices and saw a male enter his downstairs bedroom and take an empty wallet and his work pants which contained the keys to a car. On hearing Jonathan shout at him both intruders fled. Patrick Curtain who was awoken from his sleep in the upstairs bedroom chased the intruders from the house and was able to retrieve the wallet, the workpants and the car keys. The respondent and his co-accused escaped by rolling under a fence across from the Blackpool Credit Union on Watercourse Road.
The second offence occurred on the 17th of April 2020 at approximately 1.55am when the respondent and his co-accused entered the dwelling of a married couple at 26 High Street Cork. During the burglary, throughout which the married couple slept, the living room and sitting room were ransacked. Two bank cards were taken from a wallet and three bank cards were taken from a purse. One of the cards was successfully used at the Spar shop on Leitrim Street, Cork at 2.45 am.
The third offence occurred on the 17th of April 2020 at 3.54 am when the respondent and his co-accused entered the dwelling at No 1, Frankfield Villas, Cork which was occupied by a couple and their 15-month-old son. During the burglary, throughout which the couple and their son slept, €30 in coins was taken.
The fourth offence occurred on the 17th of April, 2020 when, immediately after leaving No 1 Frankfield Villas, the respondent and his co-accused entered the dwelling of Christopher Twomey next door at No 2, Frankfield Villas, Cork. Mr Twomey was awoken by the sound of a noise inside his house. While getting dressed so as to investigate the noise, a male entered his room holding a phone which was being used as a torch. When confronted by Mr Twomey as to what he was doing, the male (who was the respondent), ran from the bedroom and both he, and his co-accused who had been in the kitchen, then fled from Mr Twomey's dwelling.
The fifth offence occurred at approximately 4 am on the 17th of April, 2020 at No 9, O'Connorville, Tower Street, Cork when the respondent and his co-accused entered the dwelling of Mark Dorning who was awoken when he heard noises coming from his spare bedroom. On switching on the light and rattling the door handle of his bedroom Mr Dorning heard the intruders running down the stairs and out the front door. Notwithstanding that, the burglars were found to have rummaged through a living room drawer and to have discarded an empty purse. Nothing was taken during this burglary.
The sixth and seventh offences occurred after the burglary of the dwelling of Mr Dorney some time after 4 am on the 17th of April, 2020. The respondent and his co-accused entered the dwelling of Mrs Eileen O'Brien at 34 Tyrone Place, Cork. Mrs O'Brien was an 83 year old pensioner who had been cocooning during the COVID 19 pandemic. Mrs O'Brien was awoken by a noise at her front door. Two men then entered her bedroom shining torches and they identified themselves as gardaí who were searching for burglars in the area. After being asked where she kept her money, and being afraid, Mrs O'Brien pointed to a shelf at the bottom of her bed. The two men then searched the shelf and took various cash sums comprising of €2,500, a further €200 from inside a confirmation card intended for Mrs O'Brien's grandson, and £80 sterling.
The sentencing court received evidence of crime scene examinations which identified tool marks at the point of entry on the front doors of each of the six premises that were burgled.
Both the respondent and another male (who was later co-accused with the respondent) were arrested within 12 hours of the burglary at Mrs O'Brien's dwelling, with €200 in cash and £40 sterling being recovered following a personal search of the co-accused.
A further €1,650 was recovered from the mother of the co-accused who had been given the money for safekeeping by her son and Christopher Jones on the 17th of April 2020.
The respondent was interviewed several times while in garda custody, and during a fifth such interview the respondent admitted to the burglary at Tyrone Place and stated that he wanted to apologise to Mrs O'Brien.
Victim impact statements were received from just two of the victims. The first of these was a victim impact statement from Fiona Walsh who lives at No 1, Frankfield Villas, Cork. Ms Walsh told the court:
“…[W]e did not see the accused, we were not conned or taken advantage of, we had very little taken and didn't even know there was someone in our house until a few hours after we got up. It could have been much worse, but it has changed the way we live our lives. We didn't sleep properly for days knowing that there were men inside our home while we slept, our 15 month old was asleep in the room beside us. It has gotten better but sudden noises will still wake us. We bought alarms for the front and back doors and even questioned the area we live in. On that night our cat woke me around the time of the burglary and I went downstairs to let him out. I wondered for weeks what could have happened, had I disturbed them. We got off easy but it has changed us, our behaviour and how we feel about living in the city. It has made us more cautious and has left us with a small bit of fear, that we had not felt before.”
The sentencing court also received a victim impact statement from Christopher Twomey who lived at No 2, Frankfield Villas, Cork. Mr Twomey stated:
“The break in in the early hours of April 17th has left immeasurable impact on my life. It left a remnant of fear and stress, in already a stressful and fearful time. For months I've had a compulsion to check every window and door in my home every night before bed. There is a fear that I will wake up once again with a complete stranger in my home. Since then, I've moved out of that house into a new home, avoiding another break in was definitely one of the factors in that decision.”
The respondent is a 28 year old man who comes from a troubled family background and turbulent home environment. His father was estranged from a very young age and his two sisters and brother were placed in foster care.
The sentencing court heard that the respondent had 84 previous convictions, 21 of which were at Circuit Court level albeit as appeals from the District Court. Previous convictions included two for burglary, three for robbery, thirty-one for theft, nine for criminal damage, six for simple possession of drugs, four for possession of drugs for sale or supply and one for failing to appear. His last conviction for burglary was in respect of an offence committed on the 13th of September, 2012, and was recorded by Macroom Circuit Court on the 27th of July, 2015.
The respondent first came to the attention of the gardaí in 2004 at the age of 11 years and has served 17 custodial sentences in total.
He started using drugs at the age of 14 years and heroin from his early teens and continues to suffer from drug addictions.
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