A heroin addict who shot an off-duty Garda detective in the hand during his third armed robbery of a petrol station in a week has been jailed for six years by Judge Elizabeth Dunne at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Stephen Joyce entered the Statoil station on Ballyboden Road, Rathfarnham, Dublin, on November 13th last brandishing a handgun and demanding money from the till while Det Sgt Michael Fitzgerald was there as a customer.
Det Sgt Fitzgerald hit Joyce on the back of the head with a two-litre bottle of milk and the men began to wrestle. The gun went off and the garda was hit in the hand.
Joyce (32), from Cushlawn Park, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and three counts of possession of a pistol with intent to endanger life between November 7th and 13th, 2001.
Judge Dunne said there was no doubt the third robbery was the most serious, with severe psychological effects for Det Sgt Fitzgerald, whose physical injuries included a gunshot wound to the hand and an injured back.
"It is clear that apart from the physical injuries the garda received, he also suffered from severe emotional stress and trauma which had an adverse effect on himself and his family," she said.
"The victim impact report points to a career that has spanned over 20 years and while he has been involved with many firearms incidents in the past, none has had as much of an effect on him as this one.
"This court is inundated day in and day out with drug addicts committing robberies to fund their habits but I have to deal with this case in a much stiffer way because firearms were involved and discharged.
"The appropriate sentence for this offence would be one of eight years but I will give him credit for the way he dealt with the case and the co-operation he gave to the gardaí who investigated the crimes," she concluded.
Det Garda Liam White told Mr Garnet Orange, prosecuting, that earlier that week Joyce had held up the Maxol service station on Tymon Road in Tallaght and the following day robbed the Shell service station on Ballinteer Avenue.
On both occasions he threatened staff with the gun before escaping with money.
When he robbed the Shell the gun had also been discharged as staff attempted to co-operate with him by putting the cash on the counter.
Det Garda White accepted that this might have been an accidental discharge, but lives had been put at risk.