Thief broke back jumping from window after Cork burglary interrupted, court told

A 56-year-old who broke his back jumping from the window of a house in Co Cork after the owner disturbed him in the course of a burglary, has been jailed for 10 months.

Michael O’Callaghan, of Island View, Carrignavar, Co Cork, appeared before Cork District Court on Tuesday in connection with the robbery at Seanabothair, Killeens on July 24th last.

He stole a smart watch and a laptop but was interrupted as the owner of the property came home during the burglary.

O’Callaghan jumped from an upstairs window and the owner said she heard him shout “I think I have broken my leg”. He managed to get away from the scene but was later arrested.

Joe Cuddigan, solicitor for O’Callaghan, told Judge Olann Kelleher that his client had sustained far more serious injuries than the home owner realised.

“He had broken his back jumping out of the house he was burgling. He is now using crutches and wearing a body brace all the time. Chronic pain will be with him forever and a day,” he said.

Mr Cuddigan said O’Callaghan’s days of committing burglaries were now “beyond him” as a result of his injury.

“He is on continuing pain medication and he has a rather grim future ahead of him.”

‘No stopping this man’

Judge Kelleher said he was being asked to factor the injuries of the defendant into consideration when imposing sentence in the case.

“But the circumstances of his injury were completely as a result of his own criminality,” he said. “There is no stopping this man. He continues to burgle, assault and sell drugs.”

O’Callaghan has more than 80 previous convictions and is currently serving a four year sentence for drug dealing.

Judge Kelleher imposed a 10 month prison sentence which he directed would run consecutively to the sentence that O’Callaghan, who appeared in court via video link, is currently serving.

He had entered a guilty plea to three counts of burglary. These included the burglary in Killeens, a burglary at Buckley’s shop on the northside of Cork city last November and the smashing of a window at a house in Blarney in order to commit a robbery in July of last year.