This article is from page 14 of the 2007-11-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
A JUDGE has warned that taxi driv- ers are entitled to protection, as he jailed a man who robbed a taxi driv- er at knifepoint, for two years. Frank Hassett (21), of Clancy Park, Ennis, pleaded guilty to the offence, at Ennis Circuit Court last week. The court was told that the taxi driver had a float of €405 with him
as he started work on May 26 last.
He received a call to go to an ad- dress on the Kilrush Road in Ennis. He went to that address and picked up a passenger. He asked to go to Kilrush and said his friend would pay when he got there.
The taxi driver didn’t agree to this. A number of locations were also mentioned and the taxi ended up in Drumbiggle. There, Hassett jumped
on top of the driver and held a knife to his throat and stole the €405.
The incident was not reported to gardai until five days later. When interviewed, Hassett told gardai he wanted to pay off drug dealers to whom he owed money. He was ad- dicted to cocaine at the time.
The taxi driver told the court he “tried to talk him down, that I was only after starting working, that I
hadn’t any money.” He said he didn’t go to work for a couple of days after the incident, but later returned. Defence barrister Lorcan Connolly said his client was “in a grave situa- tion” at the time and was fearful. Hassett has several previous con- victions but Mr Connolly said this was “the first time he has been in- volved in an incident where there was a threat of violence involved.”
Judge Carroll Moran said the of- fence was “a pretty nasty thing to do. Taxi men are entitled to protec- tion. They are exposed occasionally to danger and they must expect the courts to protect them.
“In these circumstances I can’t avoid my duty and impose a prison sentence,’ he said. He imposed a three-year jail term and suspended one year.