Man jailed for ‘abhorrent and violent’ hijacking of elderly couple

Three cyclists came to the assistance of an elderly couple during what a judge has described as an “abhorrent and violent” car jacking.

Christopher Prentice (19) carried out the hijacking in Tallaght three months after he hijacked a taxi driver in Dublin city centre.

Prentice, of Brookview Gardens, Tallaght pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to hijacking of a taxi at Aughrim Street, Dublin on May 26th, 2013 and to hijacking the elderly couple's car at Raheen Road, Tallaght on August 29th, 2013.

Judge Melanie Greally said if it was not for the intervention of three cyclists during the second hijacking, “there was no telling how it would have ended”.

She imposed a sentence of four years and suspended the last two years in consideration of Prentice’s young age and his lack of a serious criminal record. He has two previous convictions including one for a public order offence in Naas on July 2nd, 2014.

Sergeant Donal O’Sullivan told the court Tony Little and his wife Monica, who were aged in their early 70s, are now more concerned about their security. He said the crime has affected their quality of life.

Mr Little was looking at vegetables in the community centre in Brittas when Prentice jumped into the driver’s seat of his parked Nissan Pajero.

Prentice was carrying a reinforced steel bar but Mrs Little thought it was a knife and jumped out of the car screaming.

Mr Little went back to the car and tried to open the driver’s door but Prentice started hitting him.

At this point three cyclists, Colin Bolger, Stephen Halpin and Mark Dowling, who were out training in the area, saw what was happening and stopped to help. Prentice screamed at the cyclists to scare them back but then ran away and hid beneath some undergrowth where he was arrested a short time later.

Garda Stephen Faulkner said Prentice kicked and punched taxi driver Ralph Akanni during the late night attack in May 2013. As Mr Akanni tried to get out of his car during the assault, Prentice slammed the door on his head.

Prentice said he had been drinking and taking ecstacy before he decided to rob the man. Prentice drove the car around the corner and crashed it after mounting the kerb of the footpath. He broke down in tears during Garda interviews and said: “I really am sorry. Every time I think of it, my stomach turns.”

He told gardaí he had taken illegal prescription drugs before the August hijacking and ended up “going on a mad one”.

The court heard from his mother, Catherine Prentice, that her son was “off the rails” and taking drugs at the time but he has settled down since these crimes. Prentice was also charged with assaulting Mr Little and Mr Akanni and these charges were taken into consideration.