A WOMAN whose car was stolen was offered it back for £500 by a man who telephoned her the next day.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard yesterday that the woman's handbag containing her car registration documents had been snatched the day before her car was stolen.
Yesterday Thomas Thompson, a drug addict, was jailed for five years for stealing Ms Bridget Murphy's handbag in Ranelagh last year, and demanding money with menaces from her.
Judge Esmonde Smyth complimented Ms Murphy for ignoring threats and calling in the Garda. He said Ms Murphy was "a mature lady made of stouter stuff, and despite putting herself at risk she, was brave enough to contact gardai".
Thompson (24), of Lismore Road, Crumlin, also received concurrent five-year terms for a number of robbery offences involving the use of syringes. He pleaded guilty to all charges. He is already serving a four-year sentence imposed in February for other robberies.
Det Garda Colm O'Malley said Ms Murphy was walking at Anna Villa in Ranelagh, Dublin, on November 16th, 1995, when two men grabbed her bag which contained her car registration documents. Her car was stolen that night. The next day she received a telephone call offering to sell the car back to her for £500. She was warned not to tell gardai, but she did.
Det Garda O'Malley got her to "mark" the money she was going to hand over to the extortionists. He then set up surveillance at the meeting point. Ms Murphy paid over the money and got her handbag back, without its contents. She received no news of the car.
Thompson was seen acting suspiciously near the scene and both he and another man were arrested a short time later. A £20 "marked" note was found on the second man.
Thompson admitted his part in the crime. The bag's contents were found in a flat in Beechwood Road and the car was recovered at Cambridge Avenue.
Thompson said he was sorry for the psychological damage he had caused his victim.