Man jailed after putting Italian man in chokehold

By Claire Henry

A man who was part of a group who robbed and placed an Italian man in a chokehold in St Stephen’s Green has been imprisoned for one year.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Dean Masterson (35) of Kilkiernan Rd, Cabra, Dublin 7, pleaded guilty to robbery at St Stephen’s Green West on May 1, 2018.

He has 122 previous conviction including for theft, possession of stolen property and road traffic offences. He was on bail at the time of this offence.

Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Elma Sheahan said the offence of robbery is serious, and the CCTV footage shows that the injured party was selected and followed by the three men who left him lying on the ground.

Judge Sheahan said the aggravating factor in this case is the seriousness of the offence in itself.

The judge said the mitigating factor includes the guilty plea, which meant the injured party did not have to return from Italy to give evidence. She also noted Masterson’s apology and remorse.

The judge said that she takes into consideration that this offence occurred when Masterson was addicted to illicit substances and that he is now drug-free and in a stable relationship.

Judge Sheahan sentenced Masterson to two years in prison and said that the “fear endured by the injured party can easily be understood”. She said, “It is the court’s opinion that a custodial threshold has been crossed”.

The judge said, “after considering the mitigation and the solid steps he has taken, I will suspend the final 12 months” and placed Masterson under the supervision of the Probation Services for 12 months post-release.

Detective Garda Philip Gleeson told Fiona Crawford, BL, prosecuting, that an Italian man who was working in Ireland while learning English was walking from Harcourt Street toward St Stephen’s Green after a work night out when he attacked from behind.

Det Gda Gleeson said the injured party was on his own, and the entire incident was captured on CCTV and shown to the court. The victim was attacked from behind by a group of three. One of Masterson’s co-accused put the man in a chokehold and put him on the ground. The victim told gardai that he found it hard to breathe while he was on the ground due to the hold on his neck.

The court heard that the victim could feel his pockets being searched, and his phone, ATM card, cigarettes and an Italian ID card were taken. The man had €1 in cash, which was also taken.

Masterson was arrested on January 10, 2019, on the foot of a warrant. He initially took a trial date but entered a guilty plea to the charge of robbery in advance of this.

One of Masterson’s co-accused – who placed the man in the chokehold – was previously sentenced to 20 months in prison for his involvement.  A bench warrant has been issued for the third defendant in this case.

The injured party in this case has since returned to Italy and did not wish to make a victim impact statement.

Det Gda Gleeson agreed with Aidan McCarthy, BL, defending, that his client was on crack and heroin at the time of this offence. The garda said, “he did have a bad drug addiction at the time, and he looks much better in court today”.

The garda agreed with counsel that Masterson has not come to the attention of gardaí since his release from custody on another matter.

Mr McCarthy said his client “is now 35 years of age, and this is the best he has ever done”. He said, “all the documents handed into court spoke very highly of my client”.

Counsel handed a probation report and a letter from Masterson in which he apologised and stated that he is “ashamed of his part in the offence”. He offered a sincere apology to the injured party.

He said his client “is a changed person and used his time in custody and his time on release to deal with his drug addiction”. He said his client began using ecstasy, crack cocaine and alcohol at the age of 13, and by the age of 23, he was a heroin addict.

Mr McCarthy said his client “is doing everything he can to show that he is no longer the person from May 1”.

He asked the court to “allow [Masterson] to prove to you that he is no longer the person you viewed on CCTV footage”.