Man (35) carried out three muggings on the same night in Dundalk

A 35-year-old man who took part in three muggings on the same night in Dundalk, was jailed for four and a half years at Dundalk Circuit Court last week.

David Ward formerly of Clifden House, Ravel, Dunleer pleaded guilty to separate robberies at Phillip Street and the Market Square on June 28th/29th last year and producing a flick knife during the latter incident and criminal damage to a BMW at Griffith Place.

The first victim, a 16-year-old skate boarder was approached by the defendant and his co-accused and was threatened with being stabbed.

He was punched twice in the face and had a chain and a mobile phone stolen.

An 84-year-old Somalian man who had walked visiting family members to their car in Carroll Village was attacked by the defendant's accomplice, and David Ward went through the victim's pockets as he lay on the ground.

The defendant damaged the car and went on to slash the tyres of a BMW parked at Griffith Place, before the pair asked a man who was walking home from a Somali restaurant for the time. That victim had his phone and a baseball cap stolen.

David Ward who had a knife, punched him in the face, and the victim injured himself trying to disarm him and was chased to a Chinese takeaway on the Castletown Road where he ran for help.

Judge Hayes said the defendant, who had 75 previous convictions and was under a two year and three month suspended sentence for assault causing harm at the time, was homeless when the robberies happened and had had a traumatic life from a young age and was diagnosed with chronic PTSD and lives in a constant state of fear and apprehension.

He noted he had failed to engage with addiction services as directed as part of the suspended sentence the court had previously imposed.

Judge Hayes imposed sentences totalling four and a half years backdated to June 30th when the defendant went into custody.
The other case which has been re-entered by the State will be dealt with later this month.