Man, 38, jailed for three years after ramming Garda cars with stolen truck in Grand Theft Auto style spree
The shocking incident, which was compared to a scene from the computer game Grand Theft Auto, was carried out by Istvan Konyari in
The Cork
Konyari, 38, had gone on a spree of burglaries and thefts, including stealing a van which he exchanged for the stolen truck.
The Hungarian national had no previous convictions and had never been in trouble prior to him being assaulted and struck on the head with a 6kg kettlebell in November 2021.
Konyari, who previously lived at an apartment in Shandon Street in Cork, suffered mood swings and other changes associated with a brain injury.
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Judge Helen Boyle said today that she believed he had reduced culpability because of his head injury.
She was told his family had returned to
Detective
He said Konyari put lives at risk as he rammed Garda cars in the confined car park space in Forge Hill on the morning of November 8, 2023.
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He was only halted in his tracks when a single shot was fired through the windscreen of the truck he was driving.
Konyari then got out of the truck and put his hands over his head.
Gardai and RSA measures aimed at driving crash deaths on Irish roads
In his Garda interview, the 38-year-old compared his antics to the video game Grand Theft Auto, the cops and robbers video game.
Konyari felt that it was a case of 'maximum stars' when a member of the Armed Response Unit fired the single shot through his windscreen to bring his escapades to a halt.
In the game stars indicate when a dramatic scene is potentially lethal.
Konyari carried out a number of other bizarre robberies during the crime spree, all of which received concurrent sentences from the judge.
He wrote a letter of apology to the court and to Gardai.
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Istvan Konyari was jailed for three years
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