A MAN who produced a knife in a fast food premises and threatened to kill the staff was jailed for three years at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
Dermot Knapp Ryan (34) pleaded guilty to burglary at Pizza Point take away, Newcastle West, producing a knife, and smashing a window at the premises with a rolling pin.
Charges against Mr Ryan, of Sherwood Estate, Newcastle West, of making threats to kill, public order, and criminal damage to a car, were taken into consideration by the court on a full facts basis.
Ryan, who had almost 100 previous convictions in both Ireland and England, was on bail for other charges at the time, for which he was ultimately not prosecuted for.
Prosecuting counsel Lily Buckley, instructed by State Solicitor for County Limerick, Brendan Gill, assisted by Garda Sergeant Aidan Pennick, outlined the facts in court.
Ms Buckley said Ryan entered the pizza premises with the intention of committing theft.
CCTV footage harvested by Gardaí from inside the take away was played in court and showed Ryan walking into the premises, taking a knife out from inside his pants, and chasing staff with the blade.
Ryan threatened staff members, saying: “Come out, I’ll kill you.” He smashed a window using a rolling pin and eventually left the premises.
He continued onto the street outside and threw the knife at a car and shouted at members of the public.
Ryan jumped on the bonnet of the car, punched the driver’s window, and attempted to open the driver’s door.
The driver, a woman, eventually drove away from the scene in panic.
Ms Buckley said members of the armed Garda “Emergency Response Unit” were deployed to the scene.
Armed Gardaí asked Ryan to show his hands as they were “concerned” he was still armed.
Ryan was “extremely volatile” and “refused to comply with the directions of Gardaí”.
Ms Buckley said Ryan was pepper-sprayed by Gardaí on a number of occasions yet “continued to resist arrest”.
“Even after he was restrained on the ground, he continued to resist arrest violently”.
Gardaí “deployed a baton” to restrain Ryan as he “remained aggressive”, Ms Buckley added.
Ryan initially told Gardaí afterwards that he believed his drink was “spiked” with drugs and he had not intended to harm anyone.
Ryan’s barrister, Amy Nix, said Ryan returned to Ireland having been living in England, and that on the night he had visited the graves of his father and a brother for the first time since they died in 2015.
“He was in significant distress. He went to the grave with two bottles of spirits and consumed them there, he was out of his mind at the time,” said Ms Nix.
Seeking leniency from the court, Ms Nix said Ryan had grown up in a disadvantaged community, suffered with his mental health, and was “plagued” by addiction to alcohol and drugs.
Ms Nix said Ryan had since received a diagnosis of ADHD, and had completed a six-month abstinence programme through Narcotics Anonymous.
Ryan was apologetic, remorseful, ashamed, the court heard, and was trying to get his life back on track with a view to working with vulnerable young people, said the barrister.
He had also completed a victim awareness programme, a barbers course, and was engaging positively with staff at Limerick Prison.
Judge Fiona O’Sullivan jailed Ryan for four years and six months with the final 18 months suspended for the burglary at the take away. She imposed concurrent sentences of two years for the criminal damage at the premises and pricing the knife.
The judge advised Ryan that the 18 months suspended from his sentence could be activated if he committed further offences within the next four years and six months.
– Court Reporting Scheme