Serial burglars jailed for four years for knife attack on resident

Two serial burglars who attacked a man at knifepoint after forcing their way into his home have been jailed for four years.

James Wall (21), of Cluain Arra, Newcastle West, Co Limerick, and Eddie Ryan (21), of Church Street Rathkeale, Co Limerick broke into an apartment in Newcastlewest, Co Limerick, and attacked the male occupant.

Before jailing the men at Limerick Circuit Court, Judge Tom O’Donnell said it must have been a frightening ordeal for the injured party and his girlfriend, the latter of whom managed to escape through a bedroom window.

The court heard the couple, who are in their 20s, were at home at about 2.30am on June 17th, 2014, when they heard the sound of male voices at the rear of the ground floor apartment.

‘He’s by himself’

One of the men was heard saying: “We have him now, he’s by himself.”

The intruders, who were both armed with knives, forced their way into the apartment after smashing a glass panel in a rear patio.

They set upon the male occupant while his girlfriend escaped out a bedroom window and raised the alarm.

The defendants, who both have a large number of previous convictions for burglary and other offences including criminal damage, attacked the man before escaping along an old railway track to the rear of the Templegreen estate.

Defensive wounds

The court heard that while the victim, who suffered several defensive wounds, did not co-operate with gardaí on the night of the incident, he made a statement the following day in which he identified his attackers, telling gardaí he knew them.

About €3,000 of damage was caused in the apartment during the incident, which lasted for several minutes.

Before jailing the accused men, Judge Tom O’Donnell said it must have been a “frightening experience” for the injured party and said the accused men had gone to the apartment “with the purpose of getting him”.

Judge O’Donnell sentenced both men to five years in prison, but suspended the final 12 months.