Student’s phone stolen as he was being attacked
By Brion Hoban
A father of one, who stole a phone from a student who was being attacked in a fast food restaurant, has been jailed for 18 months.
Aidan Keane (22), of Ardmore Court, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery at McDonald’s restaurant, Grafton Street on April 3, 2019.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
Garda Ruth Finnegan told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that in the early hours of the morning on the date in question, the then 20-year-old student Kieran Flynn entered the restaurant with his friends.
Mr Flynn went to the bathroom area in the restaurant’s basement and entered a cubicle. After a few minutes a man started banging on the door shouting “Gardai open up”.
When he opened the door, an unknown man grabbed Mr Flynn and put him into a “chokehold” while Keane went through his pockets. Keane grabbed the victim’s mobile phone and ran from the scene.
He remained in the area and was found with the phone when approached by gardai. He told gardai he had been in McDonald’s with a man who gave him some tablets and he had picked up the mobile phone from the ground after it fell out of the victim’s pocket during the robbery.
Keane has 27 previous convictions. He received a sentence of seven years imprisonment with three-and-half years suspended for offences of robbery, assault causing harm, production of an article and threats to kill or cause serious harm in April 2015. He was 17 at the time.
Following subsequent convictions for possession of drugs for sale or supply, possession of knives and trespassing, 20 months of the suspended portion of the sentence was reactivated and he returned to prison.
Garda Finnegan agreed with Oisin Clarke BL, defending, that the other man involved in this robbery has not been brought to justice.
Mr Clarke said that while his client was in custody following the 2015 offences, the only person who visited him was his best friend. He said that this person was killed in a car crash and his client dealt with this by taking drugs.
He said his client has been clean of drugs since May 2019 after going “cold turkey” and he intends to get a qualification while in custody. He said Keane has a 14-month-old son.
Judge Melanie Greally said it was clear that Keane did not set out on the night to rob anyone. She said she took into account the efforts he has made in prison to improve himself and remain drug free.
She sentenced him to three years imprisonment, but suspended the final 18 months of the sentence on strict conditions.
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