Galway Bay fm newsroom - A city man who broke into a Galway home with an underage accomplice armed with a hunting knife and hatchet has lost an appeal against his six year sentence.
23 year old Dominic Downes, with an address at Doire Beag, Knocknacarra, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary of a house in Hazel Park, Newcastle, on September 24, 2016.
Dominic Downes was sentenced at Galway Circuit Criminal Court to six years imprisonment on July 18, 2017.
His co-accused, who was a minor and in the care of the HSE at the time, received a four-year suspended sentence on a different date.
Downes lost an appeal against the severity of his sentence this week with the Court of Appeal holding that his six year term was within the range available to the Circuit Court judge.
Giving judgment, President of the Court of Appeal Mr Justice George Birmingham said gardaí were alerted when two men were seen leaving the rear of a house at Hazel Park, in Newcastle.
While gardaí were in pursuit, one of the men dropped a bag containing a large amount of stolen property.
Mr Justice Birmingham said Downes had a large hunting knife with him. A hatchet, found nearby, was also used in the course of the burglary.
He said €1,760 worth of property was stolen, only some of which was recovered.
One of the injured parties moved out of the house following the burglary.
The other injured party was off work for two weeks with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Mr Justice Birmingham said Downes had begun to get into trouble around the age of 18 and had, what was described as, an “extensive catalogue since”.
The court heard that he was the victim of a “stabbing / bottling” incident which resulted in him losing the sight in one eye.
While on bail for the burglary offence, he committed further offences, the court heard.
Mr Justice Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said no error had been identified in the sentence and the appeal was therefore dismissed.
