A CAREER criminal who was found lying on a bed with hundreds of euro in cash he had just robbed from a bookies, has been jailed for four years at Limerick Circuit Court.
Willie O’Dwyer (28), was found in a room of a supported living hostel in Limerick with a bag of cash spread on a bed as he changed his clothes minutes after fleeing the Cecil Street betting shop he had just robbed.
At a sentencing hearing before Judge Tom O’Donnell, the 28-year-old with 98 previous convictions was jailed for four years for what was described as an attack on a “vulnerable and easy target and with producing a knife”.
In his evidence, Garda Enda Clifford told the court that O’Dwyer entered the Limerick betting shop at 6:30pm and as he approached the counter demanded that the staff members open the till.
He pulled a makeshift knife from his pocket and jumped the counter.
In fear, the staff retreated to a back room and locked themselves in leaving O’Dwyer to steal €810 cash from the till.
As Gardaí were alerted, O’Dwyer fled the scene cycling through laneways of Limerick city towards the hostel he was staying in on Alphonsus Street.
Garda Clifford was the first garda on scene and the court heard that he followed a “hunch” and went to McGarry House where he found the accused in his room changing his clothes with a bag of cash emptied on the bed.
Ladbrokes dockets were also found on the bed in amongst the cash.
CCTV footage showed the incident but the court heard that ultimately the “quick thinking” of Garda Clifford was credited for the apprehension leading to the prosecution.
In his judgement, Judge Tom O’Donnell said that the 28-year-old was a “career criminal with a chronic drug problem” and imposed a five year jail term but reduced it to a four year jail term given the early plea of guilty.
The sentence was backdated to April 17, 2015 last.
