A young Dublin man, who grew up in difficult circumstances, has been jailed for four years for a series of offences in which he broke into the home of an 80-year-old man, as well as stealing two cars, before crashing one of them.
Dylan Mills (32) of Shangan Avenue, Ballymun, Dublin, appeared before Judge Martin Nolan at the Circuit Criminal Court this afternoon.
Prosecuting counsel, Patrick Jackson BL,told the court that Mills, who is currently serving a prison sentence, was captured on CCTV going around the home of the elderly man who lives alone with his two dogs. At about 11:30 pm, the man noticed that his front door had been opened after one of his dogs “went berserk”.
Although Mills had no interaction with the victim, the court heard that the cameras caught him taking “a large carving knife” from the kitchen.
Garda Laura Barrett assisted Mr Jackson with evidence related to the 10th of January 2025, where another injured party had gone out in the morning to heat up the engine of his wife’s car on a frosty morning. A short time later, the man heard a rev from outside and noticed that the car had been taken.
The court heard that Mills was spotted driving the vehicle, which was taken from Summerfield Rise, Blanchardstown, and was arrested within a number of hours and charged the next day. There was no damage to the car and nothing of evidential value arose from Garda interviews, Mr Jackson said.
Garda Alexander Durran of the Roads Policing Unit at Dublin Castle gave evidence of another unauthorised taking of a white Mercedes vehicle on the 30th of December 2024. The owner, who was at dinner with his wife, was made aware that the car had been stolen after Mills crashed it into a barrier on the Holywell Link Road in Swords, Co. Dublin.
The court heard that someone had gone into this couple’s home and taken the keys to the car before it was seen driving on a dual carriageway in a dangerous manner and causing other vehicles to take evasive action before crashing into a barrier. It struck one vehicle from the rear, causing damage to the bumper.
Two motorists who were witnesses in the book of evidence said that they saw the while Mercedes crash and a number of individuals run from the vehicle, with the driver, Mills, jumping over the barrier.
Hearing that doorbell footage caught Mills entering the home from the rear of the property, Judge Nolan said, “So the whole purpose of breaking into the house was to get the car?”, before Mr Jackson confirmed that this was the case.
Defending counsel Aoife McNickle BL said that her client had “very significant drug addiction issues” and that he came from a family where both parents were abusing drugs.
He has 16 previous convictions for criminal damage, 11 for possession of stolen property, two for hit and runs, one for escaping from lawful custody, one for assaulting a Garda, three for Section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, and two for breaching Section 15 of the same act. He also has six convictions for assault.
Ms McNickle said that her client was “quite horrified when he realised there was someone in the house” with respect to the break-in of the 80-year-old man’s home and offers his “sincere apologies”.
She argued that he had lived a “very disorganised and unstructured life” and that the offences occurred over a short period.
Fionnuala O’Sullivan SC, also defending on separate counts, agreed that her client, “Truly had a terrible start in life and has gone on to do terrible things to others.”
Judge Nolan noted that two acts of burglary, the two unauthorised takings of vehicles, and the charge of criminal damage in respect of the crashed car.
He said that the first count was the “most serious” as the elderly man had suffered “great trauma”, although the accused did not “molest” him.
Of the second count of unauthorised taking, the court commented that it seemed he “couldn’t resist” taking the running car on the “frosty morning” and that the offending was “significant” although the accused had a “sad life and a very tough life” and “inherited” a drug problem.
“His record of conviction is quite serious”, and the “jury is out” on whether he will reoffend, the court noted.
“I’m afraid his past behaviour wouldn’t give you too much hope,” Judge Nolan said, adding, “I hope this young man can do it [refrain from future offending]”.
The court set a sentence for the global counts of burglary of five years to run concurrently with a two-year sentence for the counts of unauthorised taking of a vehicle.
The final 12 months of this are to be suspended on condition of good behaviour for one year, submission to the probation service for one year and a cashless bond.
“If you emerge from prison and keep offending, the sentences will keep increasing,” Judge Nolan warned Mills.