A Dublin man, who poured petrol on a shop counter and threatened to ignite it with a lighter, has been jailed for three years and nine months.
Darragh Kane (26) of Cushlawn Walk, Tallaght, Country Dublin pleaded guilty to the robbery which took place on the 3rd of July 2024.
The accused entered the shop at 3pm with his face and head covered by a bike mask and hoody before demanding cash from the till attendant.
He took a bottle of Lucozade and poured a liquid, later found to be petrol, over the counter before making threats to set this alight with a lighter.
He told the shop keeper, “Give me the cash or I will burn this place” before the worker took a series of 5 and 10 euro notes from the till.
Not satisfied with this, Kane reached across the counter and pulled the till box to him before making off with 466.86, prosecuting counsel, Stephen Montgomery BL argued.
Judge Orla Crowe heard that at the time of the robbery there was a woman in the shop with an infant in a buggy.
Gardaí who arrived on the scene got a strong smell of petrol, the court heard.
A confidential phone call made to officers some time later gave information pertaining to the accused who was later identified with the help of CCTV which showed a distinctive tattoo. Runners worn by the suspect were also discovered at this address.
Defending counsel Sarah Jane O’Callaghan said that her client came from an “extraordinarily good background” but that he had started to abuse cocaine and tablets after his father’s death.
She said he has expressed “significant remorse” and was “beaten up” due to some “hassle” at his home in relation to a debt the day before the robbery.
“One cannot imaging the terror that young victim in his 20s felt,” she said, expressing how stressful the ordeal must have been from the shop keeper.
“My client’s hand is hanging in shame because of what is before the court.”
She said Kane was “somebody with a drug problem” who has said he “couldn’t ask for a better childhood” and is now “getting to grips with his addiction.”
Judge Crowe said that the case was a “vicious, violent ,and extremely threatening robbery” and that a “mother with baby” was in the shop when Kane “arrived in covered up”.
Kane was sentenced to three years and nine months in jail, with the final year suspended on condition of good behaviour for two years after release, and that he engage with the probation services.