Man caught with firebomb to have sentence cut

An eight-year jail sentence imposed on a man found in a car with a viable blast incendiary device was unduly severe, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Karl Harford (23), Dolphin House, Rialto, Dublin, pleaded guilty in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in 2013 to possession of an explosive device in Dublin, on November 5th, 2010.

He was stopped at a routine Garda checkpoint and a jar containing potassium nitrate and potassium perchlorate with a wick had been found at the footwell where he had been sitting.

Harford, who had 140 previous convictions, mainly for public order offences but also for possession of knives and drugs, was sentenced by Judge Margaret Heneghan to eight years with the final two suspended.

His lawyers argued that the judge failed to have sufficient regard to his age of 19 at the time and to his growing maturity. It was also contended that a lengthy sentence would lead to his institutionalisation as a prisoner.

Mr Justice Gerard Hogan said Judge Heneghan did not seek a probation report and had rejected arguments that Harford was maturing. He said she fell into error on this issue.

Mr Justice Hogan, with Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan and Mr Justice Michael Peart, adjourned to next month for imposition of a new sentence after probation and other reports have been presented.