Homeless man jailed after threatening staff with syringe during robberies

A homeless man who carried out a string of robberies within the space of a month and threatened staff members with a blood-filled syringe has been jailed for four and a half years.

Shane Bradley (33) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbing €750 in cash from the Maxol garage on Mespil Rd, Dublin on May 24th, 2015.

He further admitted robbing €500 in cash from Chapter and Verse convenience store on Leeson St on June 21st, 2015 and attempting to rob the Centra supermarket on Camden St on the same day.

Judge Karen O’Connor sentenced him to five and a half years in prison with the final 12 months suspended, giving Mr Bradley credit for his guilty plea and his efforts to improve his life.

She noted that the offences had been “particularly frightening and intimidating” for the staff members involved as Mr Bradley had threatened them with a scissors, and on two occasions, a blood-filled syringe.

The court heard Mr Bradley told Centra staff that he had HIV as he wielded a needle, which Judge O’Connor said must be considered an aggravating factor.

Garda John Cahill told Dara Hayes BL, prosecuting, that during the first offence, the accused man walked into the garage with a scissors pointed directly at the man behind the till.

The staff member told gardaí that Mr Bradley said, “Give me the f***ing money.” The man feared he was going to be stabbed so he jumped back and let Mr Bradley reach into the till and take out a wad of €50 notes. Mr Bradley then walked out of the shop and no money was recovered.

‘I’ve HIV’

Sergeant Martin Wolfe told the court that less than a month later, Mr Bradley walked into the Centra store on Camden Street and said something like, “This is a robbery,” showed staff a needle and added, “I’ve HIV.”

The staff member felt trapped as he could only go backwards and was afraid he was going to be stabbed. Mr Bradley kept banging on the counter but when he realised the gardaí had been called he left the shop.

Later that day, Mr Bradley entered Chapter and Verse newsagents, showed the till worker a syringe and said he had better open the till. He then took money from the till and walked out calmly, but left behind a syringe on the floor with a small amount of blood in it.

Mr Bradley was arrested and initially denied the offences but pleaded a few weeks before his scheduled trial date.

He has 79 previous convictions mostly from the District Court, including public order offences, theft, misuse of drugs and criminal damage.

Garret Baker BL, defending, said Mr Bradley was living on the streets with a significant drug addiction at the time. He said Mr Bradley had spent time in foster care at a young age and that both his natural parents were plagued with chronic drug and alcohol addictions.

The court heard his mother died when he was ten and that his father introduced him to heroin in his teens.

He is now drug-free and has been offered a place on Fr Peter McVerry’s residential drug treatment programme if one becomes available. The sentence was backdated to April 10th, 2017 when Mr Bradley went into custody.