A Dublin man, who was “wandering around Dublin throwing bricks at cars”, causing “extensive damage” to a number of the vehicles has avoided jail.
Ian Glossop (38) of Lower Gloucester Place in the north inner city, was observed by the owner of one of the damaged vehicles “acting suspiciously” around the parked vehicles on Stan Hope Street, Dublin at 4am on the 14th of August 2024.
The Circuit Criminal Court heard that the accused, who is a father of three, was “intoxicated” at the time and that he was told to “go away” by the witness.
The accused walked towards Fitzwilliam Place wearing blue latex gloves before walking up to a black Polo car and throwing at brick at it. He then threw a brick at a brown Mercedes before opening the door of the vehicle and proceeding to “rummage” through it.
After this he threw a brick at a silver Honda, but did not manage to smash the glass.
Glossop then tried to break into other vehicles before he moved to North Brunswick St. where he smashed the window of a silver Lexus.
After smashing the window of a car parked in the are of Old Richmond Court, the accused stole property from the vehicle before going to the other end of the same street and smashing the passenger window of a Hyundai.
Glossop also smashed the window of a Peugeot vehicle from which he stole a pair of sun glasses which were later found on the ground.
After the witness called Gardaí, members on patrol in the area spotted a male who matched the description given and arrested the accused who was in an “intoxicated” stage and “didn’t say much”.
The court heard that the total damage done to the cars targeted was €2,464 and that the accused was on bail in respect of other matters at the time.
Glossop has a number of previous convictions including 9 for criminal damage, 22 for breaches of the Public Order Act, 17 for drugs offences, 1 for production of an article, as well as failure to appear before the courts.
His defending counsel argued that Glossop has drug addiction issues but that he has made steps to address this by engaging in treatment programs.
Glossop began abusing abusing alcohol and tablets at the age of 13, and was “clean for a significant period of time” before he relapsed after the death of his grandmother last year, the court heard.
He has a diploma in addiction studies from Maynooth Universities and wishes to get his life back on track, his counsel said.
Judge Martin Nolan said that the accused “wanted to steal” from the cars but “wasn’t too successful”.
He said that Glossop was “wandering around Dublin throwing bricks at cars” and that he “has a record”.
In spite of this, the court said it was minded to “give him a chance” before passing a sentence of 16 months which was suspended in full on condition of good behaviour.
“It’s up to you Mr. Glossop,” Judge Nolan warned, adding, “If you come back before this court, you’ll go to prison.”