A DUBLIN man described by gardaí as “one of the country’s most active and high-profile criminals”, who specialised in holding women and children hostage during armed robberies, has been jailed for 12 years.
Thomas Freeman (54), Deansrath Grove, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Galway Circuit Criminal Court yesterday to the possession of a sawn-off shotgun to commit a robbery at the home of Galway businessman Julien Flynn at Lackagh, Claregalway, on February 15th last year.
He also pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment of Mr Flynn, his then pregnant wife, Emma, and two of their four young children, ranging in age from seven years old to six months. He also pleaded guilty to the theft of €3,000 from Ms Flynn.
Imposing four concurrent 12- year sentences, Judge Raymond Groarke told Freeman, who had got 10 years in 1998 for holding a Tipperary family hostage in a similar robbery, that he was a career criminal, and society demanded that he should be kept off the streets for as long as possible.
Michael McCormack (32), Ballbrook Close, Tallaght, Dublin, pleaded guilty to six charges including the possession of a Zafar shotgun with intent to commit a robbery at the Flynn home and to false imprisonment of Ms Flynn, her neighbour Mary Murphy and two of the Flynn children, along with the theft of €3,000. He was jailed for eight years.
Greg Kelly (22), Sandyhill Gardens, Ballymun, Dublin, pleaded guilty to five charges including the false imprisonment of two of the Flynn children and Jim and Nicholette Carroll (Mr Flynn’s sister), and to the theft of €3,000.
He was jailed for six years, with the final year suspended.
Mr Flynn broke down when he recalled how his wife, who was six weeks pregnant at the time, had suffered a miscarriage a few days after five armed and masked men had burst into their home screaming and shouting that evening, brandishing guns and hatchets.
“Their sole aim was to totally terrorise us with a view to extracting as much cash as they possibly could from me or our [family] business. They held the adults face down on the floor at gunpoint and were brutal and cruel enough to bind the hands of three of our small children.
“Their terrorising of and cruelty towards our four-, five- and six-year-old children is the most difficult thing to come to terms with. Their wonderfully innocent minds will forever be scarred with these horrific memories,” Mr Flynn said.
Det Sgt Gerry Roche said of Freeman: “He has a history of involvement in organising and participating in crimes where victims, including women and children, were held hostage for the purpose of committing crime for substantial gain. He was the major organiser in this crime and was clearly the one in control on the night.”