Knife wielding man captured after attempting to burgle Tallaght hotel twice in two hours

By Mary Dennehy

A BURGLAR armed with a knife was arrested by gardai in the early hours of Wednesday, after he returned to rob a Tallaght hotel for the second time in the space of two hours.

On Tuesday evening at around 10.50pm, Tallaght Garda Station responded to a call concerning the presence of a burglar on the premises of the Glashaus Hotel in Tallaght Cross.

However, according to a Garda source, when officers arrived the culprit had fled the scene – with a small number of items.

Less than two hours later at 12.40am, gardai responded to a second call concerning the presence of a man armed with a knife in the local hotel and returned – this time arresting a man, who turned out to be the burglar spotted on the premises earlier on.

Confirming the incident, a senior Garda source told The Echo that it is quite unusual for a burglar to return to the scene of an earlier crime, which in this instance resulted in the burglar’s arrest and detention at Tallaght Garda Station under the provisions of Section 4 Criminal Justice Act 1984.

He is now due before the courts for burglary.

According to reports, the man, who is in his twenties and from the Tallaght area, resisted arrest when confronted by officers and had to be restrained before being brought to Tallaght Garda Station.

A Garda spokesman told The Echo: “Gardaí in Tallaght are investigating an incident which occurred at a hotel in the Tallaght area this morning [March 29] at approximately 12.40am.

“Gardaí were alerted to the fact that a man armed with a knife was on the premises.

“A number of Garda units responded to the call [and] a male in his twenties was arrested at the scene.

The spokesman confirmed that no injuries were sustained during the incident.