Four Dublin men who were involved in stealing and dismantling cars for parts have been given three-year suspended sentences by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Alan Kessie (31), Bruach na hAille, Weston, The Ward; Stuart Kessie (23), Beaumont Road, Beaumont; James Weldon (30), Poplar Row, and Liam Weldon (33), Dunree Park, pleaded guilty to handling the stolen cars in October 1996 at The Coalyard on South Circular Road.
The four men handed over £6,000 in compensation, which is to be divided pro-rata among 11 identified victims to cover their uninsured costs.
Judge Kevin Haugh said he held all four equally guilty. The Kessies owned the car-dismantling premises and business and employed the Weldons to steal the vehicles and help dismantle them. These were very serious offences.
Judge Haugh noted that when the men pleaded guilty last May it had been indicated that if they paid compensation and had good probation reports, they might be dealt with non-custodially. It was not the practice of the court to raise false hopes about sentence in such circumstances.
He directed that they carry out community service to a maximum of 240 hours each if the probation and welfare service thought fit to demand that.
Det Garda Patrick Carr told Mr George Birmingham, prosecuting, that the Garda Stolen Vehicles Unit was alerted as a result of what was found when the premises were searched in the course of the Guerin murder investigation.
Gardai carried out a thorough investigation which revealed that the cars were quickly dismantled after being stolen and the parts sold on to the public. The investigation concentrated on matching specific parts from specific cars and cross-checking with the Garda computer to try to identify the owners. Eleven owners were thus identified.
Det Garda Carr said all four defendants made admissions as to their roles. The Kessies worked in the car-dismantling business with their father until he retired and they bought the premises.
He had calculated that the victims were at a total loss of £6,700.