A 15-year-old boy who held up and robbed two men with a house key has been sent to a detention centre for four years by Judge Kieran O'Connor at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
John Ryan, now 17, also crashed a stolen vehicle into a Garda car after a high-speed chase on the Naas Road. Ryan, of Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, pleaded guilty to criminal damage to a Garda car, stealing a car and two counts of robbery.
Garda Ronan Lafferty said that on August 27th, 1997, gardai saw Ryan driving a stolen Opel Cadet car. After a chase, Ryan crashed into a grass verge, causing £548 damage to a patrol car trying to block its path.
Judge O'Connor imposed a four-year sentence in St Patrick's detention centre and set a review date for April 5th, 2001.