A bank robber whose mother is dying from a drugs related illness has been jailed for 101/2 years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Gavan Mangan (19), a father of one, from Spencer Dock, Lower Sheriff Street, Dublin, had engaged in "a frightening and appalling spree of robberies", said Judge Michael Moriarty, adding the defendant had "a truly wretched, impoverished inner city upbringing".
Mangan was recognised on RTE's Crime line programme when a security video from a raid on the TSB Bank in Midleton, Co Cork, on October 19th, 1994 was shown. His fingerprint was found on a gun magazine left in the abandoned getaway car.
He was arrested last year after gardai fired shots at a car which crashed at high speed, with a gun pointed out the window, through a checkpoint following a raid on Skerries AIB Bank.
Mangan was given concurrent 101/2 year sentences in respect of an armed robbery of the Banks of Ireland and AIB Bank, Skerries the Bank of Ireland, Swords, and the TSB, Midleton, on dates in October 1994 and February and March 1995. He was given a similar sentence for the robbery of £7,500 worth of jeans and shirts from O'Connor's, Upper Abbey Street, Dublin, on May 13th, 1995.
Judge Moriarty backdated the sentence to July 28th, 1995, and suspended the final three years. A total of about £22,000 cash was taken in the bank raids, of which only £4,000 was recovered.
Sgt Joseph Kelly, of Skerries, agreed with Ms Isobel Kennedy, defending, that Mangan's mother was a young woman in the final stages of a serious drug related illness. His father died aged 34. Mangan was not a leading member of the gang.
Sgt Kelly described how a gun was put to the assistant manager's head in the Skerries AIB raid on March 30th, 1995. Shortly afterwards the gang was seen moving from a stolen red Honda Civic car to a stolen white Honda Civic.
He told Mr Paul McDermott, prosecuting, that gardai chased them through north Co Dublin. The four man gang drove through one roadblock to another checkpoint at Ballyboughal and shots were fired by a garda when a gun was pointed from the Honda. After a further chase they were arrested.
Mangan admitted his role in the crime and also voluntarily admitted the Skerries and Swords bank robberies.
Sgt Kelly told Ms Mary Ellen Ring, prosecuting, that two masked men raided the Midleton TSB and took £10,200. One was armed with a gun and the second with a knife. They removed their masks as they left and were caught on the security video. A third man drove them away.
Judge Moriarty said while Mangan seemed to be showing signs of maturity, the offences were immensely serious ones and the type of confrontational, drug related robberies that had to be dealt with by the courts.
In view of the favourable probation report and the mitigatory plea by Ms Kennedy, he suspended the final three years of the term and recommended Mangan serve his sentence in the prison training unit.