Duo's cross-county crime spree across Kildare & Carlow ends in crash

TWO men who carried out a wide-ranging spree of vehicle break-ins and thefts across counties Kildare and Carlow in the early hours of the morning while under the influence of drugs have been sentenced at Carlow District Court.

Alan Ring (35) and Liam Walsh (23) pleaded guilty to all charges arising from the night of 16-17 February, during which the pair targeted parked and unsecured vehicles across Castledermot in south Kildare and Tullow and Myshall in Co Carlow in what was described in court as "a litany of crimes" and "a spate of criminality". 

Both men have been in custody since 18 February.

The court heard that in the early hours of 17 February, gardaí attended the scene of a single-vehicle road collision at Myshall, Co Carlow, where an orange Ford Ranger, which was reported stolen from Rathcoole, Dublin the previous evening, had struck a wall at the front of a residential property.

Mr Ring, Blackditch Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 was found waiting at the side of the crashed vehicle, while Mr Walsh was also identified as one of two males at the scene and the driver of the vehicle. CCTV footage was obtained from several of the incidents throughout the night and a large amount of stolen property was subsequently recovered and returned to the injured parties.

Among the offences were: at 1.25am at Lerr View, Abbeylands, Castledermot, two laptops, a phone and a bottle of whiskey valued at €1,850 in total were taken from an unlocked vehicle. No damage was caused. 

At 2.20am at Ard na Gréine, Browneshill, Carlow, Mr Ring gained access to a parked van but was disturbed by the owner and fled. 

At 3.40am at St Oliver's Villas, Tullow, an unsecured ice cream van was accessed and €200 in cash was taken. 

At St Patrick's Park, Tullow at around the same time, one vehicle was unsuccessfully targeted, while another was ransacked and a coat valued at €100 was taken.

Shortly after 6am at The Laurels on Tullow Road, Carlow town, a shed was entered by force and bikes and power tools valued at €900 were removed, with damage to the shed estimated at €200. 

A further break-in at Lerr View between midnight and 6am netted power tools worth €2,000 and a laptop worth €800. 

Between 11pm and midnight at The Links, Rathoe, Tullow, tools were stolen from another shed, with damage of €200 caused. 

Mr Walsh also broke into a vehicle at Lerr View and stole tools and a handheld computer used for fridge maintenance valued at €2,500, all of which were recovered. He was also observed on CCTV in connection with a separate stolen vehicle from Saggart, Dublin on 16 February.

Mr Ring, who appeared via video link before Judge Catherine Ryan, has 78 previous convictions, 14 of which relate to theft and one to a stolen vehicle. 

His solicitor, Alex Rafter, told the court in mitigation that the burglary charges had been withdrawn and that the two men had been targeting “unattended stationary vehicles”. 

He said Mr Ring “was in what I can only describe as near enough to a drug psychosis,” having consumed 25 Tramadol tablets on the night. 

“He doesn’t remember, he takes tablets every day and smokes weed,” Mr Rafter said, adding that Mr Ring had recently become estranged from his partner and children.

He noted that all property had been recovered and returned to its rightful owners and that Mr Ring’s early guilty plea had spared the victims from having to give evidence. 

“I would say he has less culpability than Mr Walsh, who was driving the car,” he added.

Judge Catherine Ryan acknowledged Mr Ring’s early plea but said there were “so many victims and previous offences". 

‘‘There are a number of victims and other people who were terrorised by this gentleman arriving at their property in the middle of the night,” she said. Mr Ring was convicted and sentenced to 12 months in total, backdated to 18 February.

Mr Walsh, 26 Drumcairn Green, Fettacairn, Tallaght, Dublin 24 appeared the following week before Judge Geraldine Carthy. He has 54 previous convictions, 19 of which are similar to the matters before the court.

His solicitor, Leonard Leader, told the court that Mr Walsh, who lives at home with his mother, has had “a crippling drug addiction for the past six or seven years” and had fallen off the wagon after two to three months off benzodiazepines, leading to what he described as “a charade through the Dublin and Carlow countryside". 

He added that Mr Walsh had suffered serious brain injuries and cognitive impairment following a road traffic accident at the age of eight, which remained untreated into adulthood. Mr Leader also informed the court that a place in a drug treatment centre may become available to his client.

Judge Carthy noted Mr Walsh’s guilty plea to all charges as a mitigating factor, along with his acceptance of his addiction and the treatment plan in place. However, she said the number of matters before the court and the trespass caused were aggravating factors and that community service was not appropriate.

He was convicted of two offences of burglary and sentenced to nine months for each. A section 99 re-entry sentence of five months was suspended in its entirety for 18 months, on conditions including that he remains intoxicant-free and be of good behaviour, with a €1,000 bond.