A ROBBER who dragged a woman along beside a car when she wouldn’t let go of her expensive handbag has been jailed for three years.
Raymond Sheridan (27) of Greenisle Court, Clondalkin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery at Fonthill Road on September 18th, 2011. Garda Stephen Cullen told Noel Devitt prosecuting that the victim had just passed her NCT test at the Fonthill Centre and was packing her handbag and shopping back into the car.
Sheridan drove up beside her car and snatched her bag from the front seat. He passed it to his girlfriend, who was the passenger in his car but the victim reached into the car and grabbed the bag.
The court heard that the woman didn’t want to let the bag go because it was an expensive leather bag containing expensive sunglasses, a Blackberry phone, credit cards and their Pin details.
Sheridan began to drive off, accelerating and slowing down in an effort to shake the victim off his car.
Garda Cullen said the woman was afraid to let go of the car in case she would be hurt and she kept her feet off the ground by gripping with her elbows inside the car.
At one stage Sheridan’s partner punched the victim in the face and Sheridan bit her hand.
The car exited the car park on to the main road and the victim let go only when the car reached a traffic roundabout. One witness had followed the car and gardaí arrived shortly after and arrested the couple.
Defence counsel Cathal McGreal said his client, who has 89 previous convictions including two for drug dealing, was deeply ashamed of his part in the robbery. He said Sheridan became addicted to heroin while serving a sentence in Mountjoy Prison in 2007.
Judge Martin Nolan said the robbery had started innocently and became much more serious. He imposed a three-year jail sentence.