Burglar dropped getaway car keys then dozed in hijacked car

A drunken burglar in Co Meath dropped the keys of his getaway car when he was disturbed and then forced a neighbour to drive him from the scene at knife-point, Trim Circuit Court heard on Thursday.

Patrick Joyce, a 22-year old father-of-one from Dunsink Lane, Finglas pleaded guilty to burglary and the unlawful seizure of a car at Robertstown, Ashbourne on January 22nd, 2016.

The court heard Joyce was disturbed by a woman and her 9-year-old daughter during the burglary. He dropped the keys of his car, then fled on foot to a neighbour and forced him to drive to Coolock.

Joyce held the knife to the driver’s ribs on the journey, but dozed off on a number of occasions, the court heard. He told the man his name was Paddy and he had just been involved in a robbery.

When they reached Dublin, Joyce told the man to stop and put the knife under his chin and demanded his keys, phone and wallet.

At this point, the man jumped out of the car and managed to outrun his captor and alert help.

The court heard gardaí found the defendant’s car near the scene of the burglary and were able to track him down as he had only bought the vehicle some hours before the incident and had signed the log book.

Joyce, who had 63 previous convictions, had been at the height of a long-standing addiction to heroin and cocaine at the time, the court was told.

Judge Michael O'Shea jailed Joyce for three years, backdated to 14th March 2017.