A repeat offender has been jailed for six weeks after getting into a car parked in a private driveway in south Dublin while on probation and later swallowing crack cocaine when he was in garda custody.
Thomas Joyce (45), with an address at Lower Grand Canal Street, Dublin 2, was sentenced to six weeks in prison at Dún Laoghaire District Court after pleading not guilty to entering a car parked at a private residence on Anglesea Road, Dublin 4.
The court heard that at around 1.20pm on November 18, 2024, the owner of the car saw a man enter his driveway on Anglesea Road and get into his wife’s Volkswagen Touran, which had been parked there only minutes earlier and left unlocked.
He said he saw the man leaning into the vehicle and rummaging through its contents.
The court heard the owner could see the man from his sitting room and went outside to confront him. When challenged, the man told him “I thought it was my car”, before getting out and walking towards Ballsbridge village.
The owner of the car followed him and contacted gardaí, who arrived almost immediately.
Garda Robbie Nolan told the court that Joyce was then pointed out to him just minutes later inside a Spar shop in Ballsbridge, where he was arrested under Section 113 of the Road Traffic Act.
The court heard that while in custody at Irishtown Garda Station, Joyce claimed he had swallowed a number of crack cocaine wraps concealed in his dentures. A doctor was called and he was deemed medically unfit for detention. He was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital, where he later left.
Joyce was convicted by Judge Anne Watkin, who said she was satisfied with the evidence.
Defence counsel, Silvia Maria Crowley BL, outlined a long history of addiction and personal tragedy affecting her client and asked the court to impose a lenient custodial sentence, saying that Joyce was currently engaging with treatment services.
Judge Watkin said she had taken into account that Joyce had pleaded not guilty, as well as his 77 previous convictions, including 47 for theft and fraud offences.
“All of this mitigation was taken into account the last time he was before the court, when he was given a probation bond and another chance”, Judge Watkin said, noting Joyce had gone on to commit another offence while on the bond.
She said the maximum sentence available to the court was three months.
“I will make it six weeks, which is half the maximum”, Judge Watkin said.
No compensation was ordered, as there was no loss or damage to the vehicle.