City man jailed for robbery using force against teenage boy

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A father of six, who robbed his neighbour's house, putting their terrified 14-year-old son on his knees and threatening to kill him, has been sentenced to four years in prison with the final year suspended. 40-year-old Martin Sweeney, with addresses at 175 Castlepark, Ballybane, and more recently at Clareview Park, Ballybane, appeared before Galway Circuit Criminal Court. He pleaded guilty to the robbery of a cash box containing €30 from a neighbour's house on November 20th, 2009, and to using force to commit the theft. In a victim impact statement read out in court, the young victim said he had just come in from school and was alone in the house watching television and eating sweets when he heard a noise in the kitchen. He was then confronted by two masked men. The accused, who was very aggressive, grabbed him and pushed him to his knees. He held what the boy thought was a gun to the back of his head and threatened to kill him. In actual fact, Sweeney had poked his finger into the back of the boy's head, making him believe it was a gun. The boy said he was trembling with fear and thought he was going to die. The men left with a box containing €30 and the boy contacted his parents. Sweeney's car was used to commit the crime and he was arrested. After the incident, the now 19-year old victim, suffered a breakdown and could not go to school for a month. His grades went down hill and he could no longer socialise as he used to. The court heard that the accused had two previous convictions, one for theft and another for robbery in 1998. Defence barrister, Conal McCarthy said his client had not reoffended since this incident and his wife now kept a studious eye on him. Sweeney apologised to the teenager in court and had brought €500 as a token of his remorse. Imposing sentence, Judge Thomas O'Donnell said this had been a violent, premeditated robbery which had made a severe psychological impact on the young boy. He put a stay on the execution of the custody warrant to June 9th to give Sweeney time to put arrangements in place for his absence from the family home, due to the nature of his youngest child's medical condition. The delay was granted on Sweeney's undertaking to present himself at Galway Garda station at 12 noon on June 9th, from where he will be brought to Castlerea Prison to begin his sentence of four years with the final year suspended. The post City man jailed for robbery using force against teenage boy appeared first on Galway Bay FM.