Latest news with #DermotSheehan
Irish Examiner
25-06-2025
- Irish Examiner
Cork man jailed for firing shot into house before knocking man down while escaping on motorbike
A young man who had a 'horrific' childhood was humiliated by a headbutting from another Cork man who circulated a video of the assault online and he reacted by firing a shot into the other man's house and then knocking down a 67-year-old man as he sped away. Jamie Russell was jailed for seven years with the last two years suspended by Judge Dermot Sheehan at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. Mr Russell was driving a high-powered motorbike which he had stolen nine days previously when he caused life-changing injuries to a 67-year-old man when he collided with him at the pedestrian crossing, a short distance from the scene of the shooting. Detective Garda Gary Purtill outlined the background to the incidents which happened before 5.40pm on August 23, 2024. CCTV from the house at Laurel Ridge captured a man arriving outside the house wearing a motorcycle helmet. 'He can be seen with what is called a slam-bang improvised shotgun which he discharged from the driveway into the front door. Windows and door were smashed with the improvised firearm. 'Two culprits left the scene on a motorbike and sped off on a motorbike. They knocked down a pedestrian who suffered life-changing injuries. He was hospitalised for a number of months. 'The accused was driving when he knocked down the gentleman at a pedestrian crossing coming up to 6pm in the evening. He was blown some 30 metres down the road and suffered very serious injuries. 'The 67-year-old victim sustained multiple fractures to his back, ribs, pelvis and legs as a result of which he spent several months in hospital,' Detective Garda Gary Purtill said. He added that the victim felt unable physically and psychologically to make a victim impact statement. Judge Dermot Sheehan said: 'It was not simply a burst of rage, it was planned. He had to obtain the improvised shotgun and the motorcycle before carrying it out.' The first firearms charge states that at Laurel Ridge, Shanakiel, Cork, on August 23 he had a firearm, namely a 12-gauge improvised shotgun for an unlawful purpose. The second charge relates to the same time and place and refers to the possession of ammunition – a 12-gauge Winchester brand cartridge. Jamie Russell of Harbour View Road in Knocknaheeny, Cork city, signed guilty pleas to charges of possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition and dangerous driving causing injury. Humiliated Jane Hyland, defence senior counsel, called evidence of the defendant's 'horrific childhood'. She said the young man was humiliated after a recording of himself being headbutted was circulated online. And his embarrassment caused him to make the bad decision to discharge the firearm into the house. 'To the man he knocked down he asks for forgiveness and says that if he could turn back the clock he would,' Ms Hyland said.
Irish Examiner
23-06-2025
- Irish Examiner
Woman avoids jail for 'extremely serious' passport fraud
A woman whose passport fraud was extremely serious and called into question 'the integrity of both the Irish birth certificate registration system and the Irish passport system' has avoided a prison sentence. Judge Dermot Sheehan imposed a fully suspended three-year sentence on the 44-year-old woman who cannot be named as it would identify her first born child. The judge said she manipulated a vulnerable Cork man to put his name forward as the biological father of her child when in fact they effectively had no relationship of any kind, and this gave her advantages in ultimately obtaining citizenship. This man previously got a suspended jail term. Judge Sheehan said at Monday's sentencing hearing at Cork Circuit Criminal Court: These matters are extremely serious. We have a system of permitting people to reside in this country based on procedures which people must obey. If they try to deceive the system it is very difficult to be fair to everybody. 'If someone like the accused does this there may be people — equally worthy — who fail to obtain residency because of what the accused has done. Assessment by the authorities has to be based on her being honest. The consequences are very serious. They enabled a person to call themselves a citizen of this country on foot of the deceit.' Mitigating factors However, following submissions from defence senior counsel Jane Hyland, Judge Sheehan said there were noteworthy mitigating factors including the plea of guilty, albeit entered on the day the trial was due to commence, and her long-term mental health issues. It was also urged on the judge by Ms Hyland to take into account her remorse and the fact that she is primary carer for a number of children and that other than the matters before the court she had made a significant, positive contribution to her local community. Intricate details of the frauds Detective Sergeant Keith Cleary of Garda National Immigration Bureau outlined the intricate details of how frauds were carried out by the foreign national who got a Cork man to pretend that he was the biological father of one of her children. On the basis of this pretence she secured advantages for herself and her family in terms of rights of work, of residence and the eventual securing of Irish citizenship. The 44-year-old non-national woman pleaded guilty to four fraud charges in November 2024. She cannot be identified as it would lead inevitably to the identification of her child which is prohibited in this case under the Children's Act. She admitted falsely claiming that an Irish man was the biological father of her child, and three counts of false information in passport applications in 2009, 2012 and 2017. This man previously pleaded guilty to his part in this deception. The first charge stated that she provided information which was false or misleading contrary to Section 69 Subsection 3 of the Civil Registration Act 2004, namely that on July 29 2009 at the Civil Registration Office, Adelaide Street, Cork, did provide to the registrar, particulars of information which she knew to be false or misleading, knowingly providing false information naming (co-defendant) as the biological father of her child. The other three charges under the Passports Act 2008 relate to applications for passport renewal for the child. Arrived in Ireland on a student visa Det Sgt Cleary began the account of the woman's criminality stating that the defendant came to Ireland on St Patrick's Day 2008 on a student visa for the purpose of studying. Tracking back to her entry, the next person to be processed was her husband — the biological father of her four children. She lived with him from the time of her arrival in Ireland. She gave birth to a child in Cork in December 2008 — her fourth child. The name of the father that appeared on the birth certificate for this baby was a Cork man, who was never in a relationship with the accused. He has since been prosecuted and given a suspended sentence for his part in the deception. He later told the immigration bureau that his partner became friendly with the defendant and through that contact she — the defendant — asked him to commit the act of forgery in relation the birth cert. This man said he knew the day would come when he would be approached by gardaí and realised as time went by that he was way out of his depth with the act of criminality, to which he had literally put his name. He said he had felt under pressure to please everybody. Passport application Once the passport for the newborn child was obtained with the false identification of the father, the defendant and this man went to a garda station and proceeded with an application for a passport for the child. A member of An Garda Síochána signed the application for the passport and this passport was later issued. 'This was a fraudulently-obtained Irish passport,' the detective said. The first benefit of this for the mother was that her visa which allowed her to work no more that 20 hours a week, now became a 'stamp 4 visa' whereby her right to work was unlimited. She ultimately applied for and was granted citizenship in 2015, and her husband was also naturalised in 2017. Her husband identified himself as the biological father of the fourth child and supporting DNA verified this. The name of the man who pretended to be the father was explained as a mistake, and that the actual intention was that he would be named as a guardian. Ultimately, she pleaded guilty to the charges at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
The Journal
23-05-2025
- The Journal
Soldier jailed for drug dealing at army barracks
A SOLDIER WHO bagged and mixed thousands of euro of drugs in his room in a Cork army barracks as the building was a 'safe haven' which was guarded '24 hours a day and 365 days a year,' has been jailed for four years. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Shane Scanlon (35) served in the Irish army for eighteen years. He reportedly became involved in drug dealing because of 'financial pressures.' He resigned from the Defence Forces after he was caught with close to €27,000 worth of cocaine in a room he rented in Collins Barracks in Cork on March 27th, 2024. Dt Garda Derry O'Brien said that Mr Scanlon of Cooline Heights, Ballyvoloon, Cobh Co Cork was the sole occupant of the room. In addition to cocaine gardaí found €1,100 in cash and 'numerous drug paraphernalia' including a blender used for mixing drugs, a weighing scales and bags. Gardaí found evidence of drug dealing on a phone owned by Mr Scanlon with the offending behaviour going as far back as 2021. A search was carried out at his home and €2,250 in cash was also recovered. Mr Scanlon made full admissions to gardaí upon his arrest. He also co-operated fully with the garda investigation. Dt Garda O'Brien said that Mr Scanlon was using the army barracks as a 'safe haven' for storing drugs as 'opposed to his house address in Cobh.' The father of three has two previous convictions for minor driving offences. He has not come to the attention of gardaí since his arrest. The drug dealing was carried out purely for monetary gain and there is no suggestion of drug addiction or a drug debt. Defence barrister, Ray Boland, SC, said that his client had resigned from the Army after years of 'otherwise exemplary service.' He asked Judge Dermot Sheehan to impose a fully suspended sentence in the case in light of certain family circumstances of the defendant. He said that his client had suffered from homelessness in the past. Advertisement Mr Boland indicated that Mr Scanlon was keenly aware of the 'shame' his conduct brought on his unit. 'He is ashamed of that and remorseful. I would ask for his admissions and co operation to be taken in to account. The amount (of cocaine) though considerable is at the lower end for Section 15A. This (offending behaviour) was done because he was under financial pressure.' In sentencing Judge Dermot Sheehan said that Mr Scanlon had a lack of 'victim awareness' and 'empathy' of the real consequences of drugs on the citizens of Ireland. He said that the accused wasn't just storing drugs in his room in the barracks but was 'actively bagging and mixing the product for distribution onwards.' Judge Sheehan said that Mr Scanlon was taking advantage of the fact that the barracks was 'controlled with armed guards 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.' He said that Mr Scanlon wasn't on the garda radar and only came to garda attention because they were contacted by the authorities in the barracks. Describing what had occurred as an 'extraordinary breach of trust' he jailed Mr Scanlon for five years suspending the last year of the sentence. He cited the signed plea, the lack of relevant previous convictions, and the personal circumstances of the accused as factors in his decision to depart from the mandatory ten year sentence for a Section 15A offence. Meanwhile, Mr Scanlon previously pleaded guilty to being in possession of cocaine at Collins Barracks on Old Youghal Road in Cork the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another, on March 27th, 2024. He also admitted having cocaine unlawfully in his possession for his own use on the same occasion. Mr Scanlon also pleaded guilty to money-laundering in respect of €1,100 at Collins Barracks and another sum of €2,250 at his home in Cobh. He also entered a guilty plea to being in possession of articles, namely a blender and weighing scales in circumstances giving rise to a 'reasonable inference' it was for the purpose of commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug-trafficking offence. The charge of having cocaine for sale and supply when it it exceeds €13,000 comes with a mandatory ten year minimum prison sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- RTÉ News
Soldier jailed for 4 years over barracks cocaine seizure
A soldier who bagged and mixed thousands of euro of drugs in his room in a Cork army barracks as the building was a "safe haven" which was guarded "24 hours a day and 365 days a year," has been jailed for four years. Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Shane Scanlon, 35, served in the Defence Forces for 18 years. He reportedly became involved in drug dealing because of "financial pressures". He resigned from the Defence Forces after he was caught with close to €27,000 worth of cocaine in a room he rented in Collins Barracks in Cork on 27 March 2024. Dt Garda Derry O'Brien said that Scanlon of Cooline Heights, Ballyvoloon, Cobh, Co Cork was the sole occupant of the room. In addition to cocaine, gardaí found €1,100 in cash and "numerous drug paraphernalia" including a blender used for mixing drugs, weighing scales and bags. Gardaí found evidence of drug dealing on a phone owned by Scanlon with the offending behaviour going as far back as 2021. A search was carried out at his home and €2,250 in cash was also recovered. Scanlon made full admissions to gardaí upon his arrest. He also cooperated fully with the garda investigation. Dt Gda O'Brien said that Scanlon was using the army barracks as a "safe haven" for storing drugs as "opposed to his house address in Cobh". The father of three has two previous convictions for minor driving offences. He has not come to the attention of gardaí since his arrest. The drug dealing was carried out purely for monetary gain and there is no suggestion of drug addiction or a drug debt. Defence barrister, Ray Boland, SC, said that his client had resigned from the Defence Forces after years of "otherwise exemplary service". He asked Judge Dermot Sheehan to impose a fully suspended sentence in the case in light of certain family circumstances of the defendant. He said that his client had suffered from homelessness in the past. Mr Boland indicated that Scanlon was keenly aware of the "shame" his conduct brought on his unit. "He is ashamed of that and remorseful. I would ask for his admissions and cooperation to be taken in to account. "The amount (of cocaine) though considerable is at the lower end for Section 15A. This (offending behaviour) was done because he was under financial pressure," he said. In sentencing, Judge Dermot Sheehan said that Scanlon had a lack of "victim awareness" and "empathy" for the real consequences of drugs on the citizens of Ireland. He said that the accused was not just storing drugs in his room in the barracks but was "actively bagging and mixing the product for distribution onwards". Judge Sheehan said that Scanlon was taking advantage of the fact that the barracks were "controlled with armed guards 24 hours a day and 365 days a year". He said that Scanlon was not on the garda radar and only came to garda attention because they were contacted by the authorities in the barracks. Describing what had occurred as an "extraordinary breach of trust", he jailed Scanlon for five years, suspending the last year of the sentence. He cited the signed plea, the lack of relevant previous convictions, and the personal circumstances of the accused as factors in his decision to depart from the mandatory ten year sentence for a Section 15A offence. Meanwhile, Scanlon previously pleaded guilty to being in possession of cocaine at Collins Barracks on Old Youghal Road in Cork the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another, on 27 March 2024. He also admitted having cocaine unlawfully in his possession for his own use on the same occasion. Scanlon also pleaded guilty to money laundering in respect of €1,100 at Collins Barracks and another sum of €2,250 at his home in Cobh. He also entered a guilty plea to being in possession of articles, namely a blender and weighing scales in circumstances giving rise to a "reasonable inference" that it was for the purpose of commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug-trafficking offence.
Irish Independent
23-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Soldier caught with cocaine worth €27,000 in his army barracks room is jailed for four years
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that Shane Scanlon (35) served in the Irish army for 18 years. He reportedly became involved in drug dealing because of 'financial pressures.' He resigned from the Defence Forces after he was caught with close to €27,000 worth of cocaine in a room he rented in Collins Barracks in Cork on March 27, 2024. Det Garda Derry O'Brien said that Mr Scanlon of Cooline Heights, Ballyvoloon, Cobh, Co Cork, was the sole occupant of the room. In addition to cocaine, gardaí found €1,100 in cash and 'numerous drug paraphernalia' including a blender used for mixing drugs, a weighing scales and bags. Gardaí found evidence of drug dealing on a phone owned by Mr Scanlon with the offending behaviour going as far back as 2021. A search was carried out at his home and €2,250 in cash was also recovered. Mr Scanlon made full admissions to gardaí upon his arrest. He also cooperated fully with the garda investigation. Dt Garda O'Brien said that Mr Scanlon was using the army barracks as a 'safe haven' for storing drugs as 'opposed to his house address in Cobh.' The father-of-three has two previous convictions for minor driving offences. He has not come to the attention of gardaí since his arrest. The drug dealing was carried out purely for monetary gain and there is no suggestion of drug addiction or a drug debt. Defence barrister, Ray Boland SC, said that his client had resigned from the Army after years of 'otherwise exemplary service.' He asked Judge Dermot Sheehan to impose a fully suspended sentence in the case in light of certain family circumstances of the defendant. He said that his client had suffered from homelessness in the past. Mr Boland indicated that Mr Scanlon was keenly aware of the 'shame' his conduct brought on his unit. 'He is ashamed of that and remorseful. I would ask for his admissions and co operation to be taken in to account. 'The amount (of cocaine) though considerable is at the lower end for Section 15A. This (offending behaviour) was done because he was under financial pressure.' In sentencing, Judge Dermot Sheehan, said that Mr Scanlon had a lack of 'victim awareness' and 'empathy' of the real consequences of drugs on the citizens of Ireland. He said that the accused wasn't just storing drugs in his room in the barracks but was 'actively bagging and mixing the product for distribution onwards.' Judge Sheehan said that Mr Scanlon was taking advantage of the fact that the barracks was 'controlled with armed guards 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.' He said that Mr Scanlon wasn't on the garda radar and only came to garda attention because they were contacted by the authorities in the barracks. Describing what had occurred as an 'extraordinary breach of trust' he jailed Mr Scanlon for five years suspending the last year of the sentence. He cited the signed plea, the lack of relevant previous convictions, and the personal circumstances of the accused as factors in his decision to depart from the mandatory 10-year sentence for a Section 15A offence. Meanwhile, Mr Scanlon previously pleaded guilty to being in possession of cocaine at Collins Barracks on Old Youghal Road in Cork the purpose of selling or otherwise supplying it to another, on March 27, 2024. He also admitted having cocaine unlawfully in his possession for his own use on the same occasion. Mr Scanlon also pleaded guilty to money-laundering in respect of €1,100 at Collins Barracks and another sum of €2,250 at his home in Cobh. He also entered a guilty plea to being in possession of articles, namely a blender and weighing scales in circumstances giving rise to a 'reasonable inference' it was for the purpose of commission, preparation, facilitation or instigation of a drug-trafficking offence. The charge of having cocaine for sale and supply when it it exceeds €13,000 comes with a mandatory ten year minimum prison sentence unless there are exceptional circumstances.
