A man who raided his local convenience store three times in one week has been jailed for 3½ years.
Lee Swift (28) was living with his father at the time in his home just 500 yards away from the Centra on Kimmage Road Lower in Terenure. During his third raid of the store, staff alerted gardaí and he was still in the shop when the officers responded to the call.
Swift then threatened both gardaí, Brendan Stynes and Jason O’Carroll, lunging at the officers with a knife until they were forced to retreat. Further gardaí were called in to assist and Swift was arrested a short time later following a brief pursuit.
Swift, of Kilcarrig Avenue, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery between August 4th-8th, 2021.
Markets in Vienna or Christmas at The Shelbourne? 10 holiday escapes over the festive season
Stealth sackings: why do employers fire staff for minor misdemeanours?
Michael Harding: I went to the cinema to see Small Things Like These. By the time I emerged I had concluded the film was crap
Look inside: 1950s bungalow transformed into modern five-bed home in Greystones for €1.15m
He has 258 previous convictions, the majority of which are for road traffic offences but which also include criminal damage and theft offences.
Garda Stephen Byrne told Conor McKenna, prosecuting, that a total of €455 in cash and more than €2,400 in cigarettes and tobacco were robbed over the course of the three raids after Swift threatened the staff with a knife.
Sarah Connolly, defending, told the court that Swift had chronic drug abuse issues stemming from an extremely troubled childhood and the death of his girlfriend in a car incident when she was four months pregnant with their child.
“He turns to drugs to quell that trauma,” Ms Connolly said.
Swift had a heart attack at the age of 18 after taking a cocktail of drugs, but continued taking drugs as soon as he recovered, the court heard.
Since going into custody in August 2021, Swift has done well and has expressed a wish to rehabilitate fully, defence counsel said.
Sentencing Swift on Monday, Judge Nolan said the crimes committed were relatively serious. He noted Swift has a long history of offending and has been given a number of chances in the past.
He handed down a five-year sentence and suspended the final 18 months on a number of conditions.