‘Squirt it in and I’ll burn them up like a rollie’ - arsonist
A Circuit Court judge has expressed his concern at the number of arson attacks in Sligo town.
He made the remarks after jailing three men who had been involved in two separate petrol bomb type attacks on houses.
Judge Keenan Johnson said it gave him no pleasure in saying it but it appeared Sligo town was prone to these particular type of incidents.
“It is very concerning this type of behaviour is going on,” said the Ballymote native.
He added that there was a lot more to life than feuds. All such attacks was doing was perpetuating such feuds, he said.
In one incident before him at Sligo Circuit Court, the Judge jailed John Dennedy of Racecourse View, Cranmore for 18 months. He pleaded guilty to damaging by fire the sitting room window of 4 St Anne’s Terrace, the property of Tony Murrin on September 18th 2015. Mr Murrin’s car was also damaged.
The court heard that there was family feud going on and that Mr Murrin and Dennedy’s father were brothers.
At the conclusion of the sentencing, Judge Johnson appealed to both sides of the family to “try to move on with their lives and to put the family feud behind them.”
“I behoves in particular the victim and the accused’s father who are both brothers and the elders of the elder of the two sides of the family, for the sake of their respective children, to ensure that there are no further tit-for-tat incidents which will feuds are the participants themselves, their respective families including children and grandchildren.
“Mr Dennedy senior and Mr Murrin owe it not only to themselves and their families but also to society to ensure there are no repeat tit-for-tat incidents or confrontations.
“I want to make it abundantly clear that if this family feud comes before the court again, this court will not be found wanting in punishing the offenders by the imposition of significant custodial sentences. This feud has to stop now and the main thrust of this sentence is to ensure that it does stop from today,” said Judge Johnson.
The court heard that Dennedy was involved in the burning of Mr Murrin’s car at 2am with another man while parked out- side his house.
The 2004 Skoda Fabia, worth €2,000 was destroyed in the fire. A window was smashed an an accelerant was poured in.
Dennedy also tried to set the house on fire while Mr Murrin and his family were present.
The front window was broken and damaged estimated at €150 was caused.
Dennedy, who was drunk at the time, decided to commit the offence in order to punish Mr Murrin for some perceived slight that the victim had made about the accused’s mother and also as part of the ongoing family feud, said the Judge.
The conflict was further exacerbated by a dispute over the ownership of 4 St Anne’s Terrace which belonged to the victim’s mother and the accused’s grandmother.
After setting the car on fire, Dennedy broke a front window in the house and attempted to set the property on fire. The incident was captured on CCTV and the footage was shown to the court.
“It is an extremely disturbing piece of footage and the accused can be heard as he smashes the front window of the house to shout at his accomplice, “squirt it in and I’ ll burn them up like a rolly,” said Judge Johnson. The victim stated how he heard Dennedy shouting from the street to come out.
In a way, said the |Judge, it was fortunate that the victim heard this shouting as it alerted him to the fact the car was fire and there were efforts being made to set the house on fire.
Accordingly, the victim alerted his family and went outside and chased Dennedy away while armed with an axe.
Judge Johnson said the in- cident had brought the family feud to a new level of ferocity and Dennedy’s behaviour was totally and utterly reprehensible and unacceptable.
In his Victim Impact Statement, Mr Murrin said his health had suffered badly since the incident. He was brought to hospital by ambulance suffering from chest pains the next morning. He declined to stay as he feared for the safety of his children.
In May 2015 he had three stints placed in his heart and was living in constant fear of attack. He was on edge when his boys go out in case anything might happen them.
He was on heart medication and also anti-depressants.
He said all his family wanted was to be able to relax in their home and get a good night’s sleep. He and his family were emotionally and mentally scarred as a result of the traumatic incident.
Judge Johnson said it was fortunate nobody was seriously injured and that it was an extremely serious matter when somebody attempted to destroy by fire a car and a house.
He said if instances like this went unpunished then there was every likelihood there would be an escalation of such incidents.
A hugely aggravating factor in the case was the fact the accused was aware the home was occupied at the time as was the fact there was a level of premeditation involved.
“The level of hatred and viciousness displayed by the accused in the comments he made when the attempt was made to burn the house has also to be deemed an aggravating factor,” said Judge Johnson.
A probation report put Dennedy at a high risk of re-offending in the next 12 months. The risk factors he needed addressing were his abuse of alcohol and drugs along with anger management issues. He had 14 previous convictions.
The Judge noted that the accused’s expression of remorse to the court and his victims appeared to be sincere and genuine and he had taken steps to address his alcohol and drug abuse issues.
The accused was in a stable relationship with a lone parent and was involved in the bringing up of her child who was now nine. Any incarceration was going to impact negatively on this relationship and this was a significant punishment in itself.
A letter from Fr Pat Lombard of St Anne’s Parish handed in to court on the accused’s behalf stated he was very remorseful for his actions.
“Significantly, Father Lombard expresses the hope that in the spirit of reconciliation both parties in the family dispute can move on and live in harmony with one another. This latter hope is something of particular concern to the court,” said Judge Johnson.
He added that Garda Grimes, the investigating officer, was quite clear in his evidence that there were two sides to the dispute and it would appear, said the Judge, that neither party, including the victim, had covered themselves in glory in the way that they had behaved.
The Judge jailed the accused for 18 months and also ordered him to keep the peace for five years on his release.
He would also be under probation services supervision and remain drug and alcohol free for the five years.
Dennedy must also pay Mr Murrin €2,150 for the damage within a month. The Judge said he took no pleasure in jailing Mr Dennedy, whom the court heard had a heart condition.
“I am satisfied from the testimony he gave to this court and from testimonials that have been furnished, that the accused is not an inherently bad person but clearly a person who lacks maturity when it comes to acting responsibly,” said Judge Johnson. He urged Dennedy to continue on the road to rehabilitation by refraining from consuming alcohol and drugs.
“If he fails to do this, then unfortunately it is likely that he will spend the rest of his life in and out of prison,” said Judge Johnson.