Two men were sentenced yesterday for the manslaughter of a Co Louth man who was stabbed in the back in a plot to rob him of his Christmas social welfare bonus.
Mr Justice Paul Carney sentenced father-of-two Martin Myles (33), of Ferdia Park, Ardee, Co Louth, to 17 years' imprisonment and Kevin Reilly (19), of Hurlestown, Ardee, Co Louth, to 14 years for the manslaughter of Mr Patrick (Paig) Clinton (59), a father of six children, at his home in Ballybaille, Ardee, on December 19th, 2000.
The pair went to the caravan where Patrick and his brother Noel were living at the back of their elderly parents' garden and drank with them for a while before Kevin Reilly stabbed Patrick. Reilly, a drug dependent who lived with his parents in a rural area outside Ardee, was in debt to a Dundalk drug dealer and this provided the motive for the attack.
Martin Myles admitted to detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation that he and Reilly had planned to rob the brothers of their social welfare payments and then to each stab one of them. Reilly stabbed Mr Patrick Clinton twice in the back but it was said that Myles did not have the bottle to stab Noel. He told gardaí he believed Mr Clinton would have given him money had he asked.
In the Central Criminal Court, Mr Anthony Sammon SC, for Myles, described the case as "outstanding in terms of the violence administered".
Mr Justice Carney found the killing was a joint enterprise. He said the pair had "hatched a mean plot" to go after the two brothers with knives to rob them. It was very significant that one of them was to take out one brother and the other was to take out the other. The doctrine of joint venture applied. He said Myles's previous convictions for carrying a hammer and for possession of an imitation weapon "totally aggravated" the case against him.
Deputy State pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy found Mr Clinton's injuries would not normally have resulted in death, but he had a severe heart condition, which made him less able to survive the wounds and would have rendered cardiac resuscitation more difficult. Mr Justice Carney said the pair's alcohol and drug backgrounds did not appear to him to be very important considerations. What was important was that they had "hatched a mean plot" to go after the Clintons with knives and to each use knives on them. He jailed Martin Myles for 17 years and Kevin Reilly for 14. He said he was taking into account the period of some 2½ years the pair had already spent in custody.
Both men were refused leave to appeal. Mr Sammon had objected when the judge refused to adjourn sentencing until a probation report was received.
Mr Justice Carney said he would proceed without a probation report because of chronic delays being experienced by the court in getting reports.
Mr Sammon had also objected to evidence from Patrick Clinton's daughter Barbara. Ms Clinton's statement to the sentence hearing was interrupted a number of times by objections from Mr Sammon.