A man has been jailed for 10 years for the manslaughter of a night watchman during an attempted robbery at a cigarette warehouse in Dublin.
In the Central Criminal Court yesterday, Mr Justice Carney sentenced Joseph Byrne, of Derry Drive, Crumlin, for the manslaughter of Mr Hans Herman Clausen (45), Sillogue Gardens, Ballymun, at the Bluebell Industrial Estate, Dublin, on May 2nd, 1998.
The judge said he was "very unimpressed" to hear that Byrne, the father of three children, while unemployed long term had the capacity to take part in a warehouse robbery. In contrast, the deceased "was a man who worked two jobs to provide for his family", he said.
Byrne had brought "a knife into the equation which resulted in the death of the unfortunate, hardworking Mr Clausen", Mr Justice Carney said.
Byrne had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter during an earlier hearing.
He was part of a three-man gang which planned to steal "a substantial amount of cigarettes" from the warehouse on the Bluebell estate, but, according to Det Insp Thomas O'Loughlin, they could not carry out the robbery without "neutralising" Mr Clausen first.
Byrne and his two accomplices gained entry to the warehouse compound with wire cutters and waited for two hours until Mr Clausen came outside. They then jumped on him, but he managed to hold on to one of the men. Byrne and the other man went to the aid of their accomplice. Byrne admitted picking up a knife from the ground in the ensuing scuffle, but it was accepted that it was one of his accomplices who brought the knife into the compound.
Byrne's counsel, Mr Barry White SC, told the court yesterday his client "does not know the circumstances in which the knife was apparently drawn", but insists the stabbing was not intentional on his part.
The court heard that Byrne had 12 previous convictions, including three for assault.
Born in Germany, Mr Clausen had lived in Ireland for nearly 30 years. In evidence, his wife, Lavinia, blamed the killing for one of her two daughters having a miscarriage. She said both daughters were still "in total denial" about their father's death, while she herself was on medication.
After the hearing, Ms Clausen said she was pleased with the sentence, but added: "I just hope he serves all of it."