A man who relapsed into heroin abuse after his family died in the Carrickmines halting site fire was later involved in a dangerous high-speed chase with gardaí, a court has heard.
Patrick Connors (46) who drove a car at speeds in excess of 160km/h, along the wrong side of a busy road and the wrong way around a roundabout was on Friday jailed at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for 2½ years.
The court heard he did a U-turn at speed and drove at over 100km/h on a road with a speed limit of 50km/h. At one point he drove through a red light and went into the rear of a taxi that was turning at the junction.
Connors of Coolevin, Ballybrack, Dublin, pleaded guilty to endangerment creating a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another on Swords Road, north Dublin on September 19th last (2016). A charge of dangerous driving was taken into consideration.
Stolen laptops and jewellery
He also admitted having possession of stolen laptops and jewellery and having a screwdriver with the intention that it would be used in the course of a theft.
The stolen goods, the screwdriver and a “jemmy” bar were found in the car when the chase finally ended and gardaí arrested Connors.
Judge Patricia Ryan noted the serious nature of the charges as well as Connor’s personal circumstances and imposed a 3½-year sentence with the final year suspended.
Garda Keith Cassidy told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that the stolen items had been taken during a burglary in Northern Ireland earlier that morning.
Connors has 89 previous convictions including dangerous driving, burglary, possession of stolen property, theft, assault and breach of a barring order. He has 56 convictions for summary road traffic offences.
Ronan Prendergast BL, defending, said his client had been using heroin in the past but had got clean. He said he relapsed after relatives of his tragically lost their lives in Carrickmines. He said his client was living in a car at the time.
Judge Ryan noted when she heard evidence in the case last month that it was the second dangerous driving case she had dealt with that week involving a man who was related to the family in Carrickmines and who was living in his car.