Two years for taking Gardai on two high speed pursuits
By Declan Brennan
A MAN who took gardai on two high speed pursuits while driving a car stolen during a house burglary has been jailed for two years.
Mark Taylor (30) was driving a stolen VW Golf car at fuel pumps in Newcastle, Co Dublin on February 22, 2019 when gardai noticed him driving off without paying for the fuel.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court
Taylor drove off at high speed, overtaking two other vehicles in a dangerous manner and gardai were unable to keep up with him.
The next day gardai spotted Taylor in the same car and approached him. Taylor drove the car at gardai before reversing at speed and smashing into another car.
He continued to reverse at speed, mounted a traffic island, crossed the road and then drove the wrong way down the carriageway. He broke a red light, mounted a footpath and drove away at speed, loosing gardai who were in pursuit.
Later that day, colleagues in Naas received a call that a VW Golf was driving dangerously on the N7. The car pulled into a service station on the M7 and an armed unit arrived on the scene and members of that unit approached Taylor.
Taylor became aggressive and abusive and was arrested.
Garda Barry O’Shea told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court the car had been taken from a home in Clondalkin two nights earlier but had been fitted with stolen number plates since. He said gardai searched the car and found jewellery, a laptop, computer games, and a number of jigsaws which had been stolen during the burglary.
Taylor of Kiltalown Park, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen property, dangerous driving, and a number of related driving offences.
His 113 previous convictions include assault, burglaries and a large number of road traffic offences. In 2012 he was banned from driving for 25 years and in 2009 he received a ten year ban.
His lawyers told the court that at the time he was trying to get money to feed a “ferocious” drug addiction.
Judge Melanie Greally said that he was exposed to extremely dysfunctional influences in his childhood and had very little positive role models.
She noted he has since expressed remorse and a desire to change his life and get help.
Judge Greally suspended the final year of a three year prison term on condition that he engage in addiction and psychological services while in custody and for 12 months after his release.
She also disqualified him from driving for a further 25 years.
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