15yrs jail for armed raid on takeaway
Two men shot in robbery bid
A THUG who shot two men while trying to rob a takeaway has been jailed for 15 years.
A court heard Joseph Behan, 45, blasted the pair when they tried to stop him and without the early intervention of a paramedic there was a “good likelihood” one would have died.
The accused denied attempted robbery, two assault charges and discharging a firearm at Mizzoni's Pizza in Raheny on January 1 last year.
His brother Anthony Behan, 60, also pleaded not guilty to impeding the apprehension of his sibling that day.
Both men, from Edenmore Park, Raheny, North Dublin, were convicted in February and remanded in custody.
Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Martin Nolan said Joseph Behan fired two shots when the occupiers of the takeaway at Edenmore Shopping Centre resisted him.
He added one of the men was grievously injured while the other sustained a less serious gunshot wound to his abdomen.
Judge Nolan said Joseph Behan behaved “in a very reprehensible way” and could have killed a number of people.
Dubin Circuit Criminal Court heard Anthony Behan disposed of a bike used during the attempted robbery knowing his brother had been involved in a serious crime.
The judge said he was not sure whether Anthony Behan had been aware his brother had a firearm but he did know he was going to rob.
A lawyer for Joseph Behan said the defendant's father died in an accident when he was aged 18.
He added his client's first conviction came in 1997 and he had been attending school while in custody before the coronavirus crisis.
A lawyer for Anthony Behan, who was jailed for two-and-a-half years, said his client was stabbed in the chest, spleen and lungs in 1980, affecting his ability to work.
The court heard he has a history of heroin addiction but has been on methadone for some time.
His lawyer said the bike was left in plain view nearby and found by gardai.