A 39-year-old Cork man described by a judge as "a hardened long-time criminal" has been jailed for nine years after he was convicted by a jury of the armed robbery of a bank in which staff and a customer were threatened at gunpoint.
Brian Looney of Pearse Road, Ballyphehane, was one of two men who held up staff and customers at the AIB branch on Bandon Road in Cork city on March 24th, 2003, and made off with €1,745 in cash.
Looney was convicted by the jury of the robbery on a 10-2 majority after Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin had earlier directed them to acquit him of charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a car without the owner's permission on the same date.
Yesterday Det Garda John Ryan told Judge Ó Donnabháin at Cork Circuit Criminal Court that Looney accompanied another man into the bank and stood on watch by the door while the other man produced a handgun and demanded money from terrified staff.
He said there was a woman customer in the bank who was deeply traumatised by the incident - so much so that she was still suffering from distress and, although she had come to court to testify, she had been unable to do so.
Looney had a total of 58 previous convictions, including one from Dublin Circuit Criminal Court where he received a six-year sentence but had five suspended for an armed robbery in Blackpool in Cork city in 1991.
Judge Ó Donnabháin said that Looney played a central role in "a cold and calculated robbery" which was designed to terrorise people, and the effect on the member of the public who was caught up in the raid was clearly evident from her appearance in court.
"It matters not a jot to you, the effect you had on her," said the judge, adding that Looney had shown absolutely no remorse.
"This was a well-planned, well-organised and professional robbery involving a high degree of criminality. You are a hardened, long-time criminal and I think the appropriate sentence is nine years," said Judge Ó Donnabháin backdating it to February 12th.
