Man jailed for three years for vehicle hijacking and airport trespass – The Irish Times

A 51-year-old man has been sentenced to three years in prison after failing to behave in accordance with the conditions of his release after threatening to kill a garda and going on the rampage in a stolen airport police vehicle at Cork Airport.

Edmond Stapleton, born in Kilbarry Cottages, Dublin Hill, Cork, but now with an address in Garranlease, Kilfinane, Co Limerick, was back at Cork Circuit Criminal Court over an incident in which he bit one garda and kicked another.

Stapleton had been sentenced to 12 years in prison, suspended for five years, in 2012 when he was convicted of 12 offences, including threatening to kill Garda Michael Bohane and running around Cork Airport in a stolen airport police vehicle.

Judge Sean Ó Donnabháin set a condition for suspending the final five years of Stapleton’s sentence that he remain under the supervision of the probation service, remain alcohol and drug free and be of good behavior for a period of five years.

But this week the DPP applied under section 99 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 for the case to be reheard after it emerged that Stapleton had assaulted two gardaí in Limerick in breach of his promise to be of good conduct following the disaster at the airport.

Det Sergeant Chris Cahill told how members of the Cork Armed Support Unit went to Stapleton’s home in Kilfinane on June 16, 2023 to carry out a search as part of an investigation into a shooting in the Wilton area of ​​Cork city on May 12. , 2023.

Gardaí knocked on the door of Stapleton’s home and identified themselves, but received no response, so they entered the property and found Stapleton upstairs, intending to self-harm by attempting to jump from a window.

Gardaí went to restrain him but he kicked out and an officer was knocked back, sustaining an injury to his elbow, while Stapleton bit another officer on the arm as he and his colleagues tried to take Stapleton down.

The incident led to Stapleton being charged with two counts of assault causing harm and on November 6 last he was sentenced at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court to three years’ imprisonment for the biting incident and a concurrent 12 months’ imprisonment for the other incident. raid.

Cork City State Attorney Frank Nyhan told Cork Circuit Criminal Court today that the state wanted the case retried based on Stapleton’s recent convictions and asked Sergeant Cahill to outline the details of the original 2011 offence.

Det Sergeant Cahill told how Stapleton jumped into a Garda SUV on the afternoon of May 22, 2011 on Patrick Street in Cork city center and put a knife to the throat of Garda Michael Bohane, threatening to kill him before killing him. the vehicle commanded.

He then drove at high speed to the South Link Road and to Cork Airport, where he crashed through the fencing and hijacked a Cork Airport Fire Service 4×4 and began running around the apron, where he rammed an unmarked Garda car.

He missed a plane full of fuel and packed with vacationers when he stopped nearby. He then jumped out of the 4×4, wearing only boxer shorts, armed with two knives and eventually had to be tasered so gardaí could arrest him.

Arguing for leniency, barrister Elaine Audley BL said her client had expressed remorse for his actions and Det Sgt Cahill agreed that Stapleton was living in extremely poor conditions at his Kilfinane home and was in poor mental health.

Judge Dermot Sheehan said the attack on the two gardaí was in clear breach of the terms of his suspended sentence at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, and said he would reinstate the full five years suspended by Judge Ó Donnabháin in 2012 .

He said he would do this in addition to the three-year term for the gardaí attacks imposed in Limerick on November 6, but suspended the last two years of the five-year term, meaning Stapleton will now serve a total of six will serve for years. in prison.