Man pleads guilty to attempting to rob a roofer of his ladder and producing a knife

Man pleads guilty to attempting to rob a roofer of his ladder and producing a knife

A YOUNG man who produced a kitchen knife in an attempt to rob a roofer of his ladder has been given a one-month suspended sentence.

Darragh Nugent, aged 19, carried out the attempted robbery at his own housing estate, pointing the knife at the roofer, who restrained him until the gardai arrived.

blanchardstown courthouse

Blanchardstown District Court

Judge Gerard Jones suspended the sentence for two years at Blanchardstown District Court.

Nugent, with an address at James Connolly Park in Clondalkin pleaded guilty to attempting to rob a man and production of a knife at James Connolly Park on August 17, 2020.

The charges are contrary to the Theft and Fraud and Firearms and Offensive Weapons Acts.

Nugent had entered his plea on an earlier date and when the case came back before the court, Garda David Sheedy gave further evidence.

He said he was called to the scene and found the accused being held on the ground by the victim and a witness.

The victim, a man in his 50s, had been carrying out work on a house earlier when Nugent tried to take his climbing ladder.  The accused then returned and the second time produced a nine-inch kitchen knife while trying to take the ladder.

Nugent was in an emotional state and crying when the garda saw him. The ladder and knife were recovered and nobody was injured in the incident.

Solicitor Sandra Frayne, defending, said Nugent, who had no previous convictions, was under the influence of a number of drugs at the time of the incident.

 

Gda Sheedy agreed there was evidence of drug use, the accused sought medical attention at Ronanstown Garda Station and his period of questioning had to be suspended.

Ms Frayne said the accused was highly intoxicated and crying at the scene. A local resident overcame him and pinned him down and was trying to calm him down.

Nugent was not aggressive on the day, she said. The victim was “sympathetic to my client” and did not want to make a complaint, saying “the young man needs help, I don’t want to make things worse for him. I just want to forget the matter,” Ms Frayne said.

Nugent’s mother was “decent and hard working,” and the accused had since made a lot of efforts to change his life around, Ms Frayne said. A lot of their neighbours were upset about what happened.

Judge Jones asked the garda how distressed the victim was.

Gda Sheedy said at the time, it was a “quite shocking matter” but the man had since reflected on it and did not want the accused to be caused any more distress.

Judge Jones asked if Nugent had swung the knife towards the victim. The garda said a “gesture was made” but there was a considerable distance between Nugent and the victim.

The judge said he was not going to send the accused into custody and gave him a suspended sentence.

He told Ms Frayne the accused could “thank the garda for his evidence.”

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