A Dublin man who hijacked a taxi and reversed it the wrong way down the Naas Road before driving through the front door of a nightclub has been sentenced to four years in jail.
Michael Hanlon (26), of Kilmahuddrick Road, Clondalkin pleaded guilty, at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, to seizing control of a vehicle and to reckless endangerment at the Naas Road on August 3rd, 2006.
Garda Joseph Carroll told the court Hanlon had tried a number of times to drive the car further into the nightclub, before reversing out of the building, ramming through a set of steel barriers and driving off down the Ballymount Road.
Hanlon hijacked the taxi after he and a friend were asked to leave Club Diva at The Red Cow Moran Hotel, following an incident inside. He threatened to stab the taxi-driver and ordered him to get out of the car before reversing back down the Naas Road.
Garda Carroll said as Hanlon and his friend left the club they exchanged words with the doormen before walking out to the main road and hailing a taxi. He said Hanlon got into the backseat of the taxi and instructed the driver to "go up the road". When the car started moving he grabbed the driver round the throat and shouted "I'll stab you".
Gda Carroll said that the driver stopped the car after being ordered to "get out", at which point Hanlon got into the driver's seat and reversed the car back down the Naas Road towards Moran's Hotel.
He told the court that nightclub doormen saw the car brake as it entered the car park, before it turned around and drove towards them at speed. They ran inside the building before Hanlon crashed the car through the doorway of the club.
Sean Gillane SC, defending, submitted to Judge Frank O'Donnell that his client had been drinking heavily on the night of the offence and was using cocaine at the time. He said that the violent behaviour exhibited by Hanlon was typical of that associated with cocaine users but that the accused had since come off the drug.
Judge O'Donnell.suspended the last two years of the sentence on the condition that Hanlon keep the peace and be of good behaviour for five years on his release. He also disqualified him from driving for five years.
"Your conduct could have lead to serious risk of injury or death to many people," Judge O'Donnell told Hanlon.
He noted that the taxi driver stated in a victim impact report that he is since "very wary of passengers" and in fear that this would happen again. "It must have had a terrible affect on him, especially since he is picking up strangers all the time. Taxi drivers who are licensed by the State to provide public transport, must be protected like everyone else," Judge O'Donnell said.