Duo who robbed post office sent to prison
TWO men who held a postmaster and his partner at gunpoint during a robbery at a local post office have been jailed.
Stephen Walsh (21), of 26 Drumcairn Green, Fattercairn, Tallaght, Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of an air gun with the intention to commit a robbery on April 19, 2016, at Courtown Post Office, Seamount, Courtown Harbour.
He also pleaded guilty to robbing Noel Dunbar of cash to the value of €4000 on the same occasion.
Luke Strong (18), of 41 Riverchapel View, Courtown, also pleaded guilty to robbing Noel Dunbar of cash to the value of €4000.
Prosecuting Garda Evelyn Redden told Wexford Circuit Criminal Court that postmaster Noel Dunbar and his partner Jennifer Zain were in the post office on April 19 when the two defendants entered the premises. Walsh pulled what appeared to be a pump action shotgun from his trousers, pointed it at Ms Zain and shouted ‘I’m going to blow your f ***ing head off ’ if he didn’t get the key of the safe.
Ms Zain repeatedly told the two raiders that she had no key to the safe. Noel Dunbar shouted at the raiders that the gardai had been called, at which point Walsh turned the gun on him, shouting ‘I’m going to blow your head off ’.
Garda Redden told the court that both raiders were shouting at Mr Dunbar to open the till when Ms Zain grabbed the gun off Walsh. The two raiders then grabbed the till and ran out of the shop.
Ms Zain, said Garda Redden, spoke of ‘never having been as terrified in her life’.
In a statement to Gardai, Mr Dunbar said that he pursued both raiders out of the shop. Luke Strong ran in the direction of Riverchapel while Stephen Walsh tripped and fell just outside the premises. Mr Dunbar held him down until the gardai arrived.
Garda Redden said the two accused were arrested and conveyed to Enniscorthy Garda Station for questioning. She said that Strong was not fit for interview for some time as he was intoxicated.
Garda Redden said that Walsh had 25 previous convictions while Strong had 39 previous convictions.
Prosecuting Counsel, Sinead Gleeson, said the air gun, which was functioning and in good condition, was unloaded at the time.
Senior Defence Counsel John Peart, who appeared for Walsh, said the two accused were intoxicated during the course of the raid, through a mixture of alcohol and tablets. His client assisted the gardai and answered all the questions put to him.
He made a full admission but had not a full memory of what had happened. Mr Peart said his client, who is from a deprived background, was sorry for what happened.
Senior Counsel Philip Sheahan, for Strong, said his client was full of remorse. He described it as a serious drunken escapade.
Describing it as a most frightening ordeal for those present in the post office, Judge Elma Sheahan sentenced Walsh to four years in prison on each charge, to run concurrently, backdated to April 19, 2016, with the final 12 months suspended.
Judge Sheahan sentenced Strong to three and half years in prison, backdated to April 19, 2016, suspending the final 12 months.