By Claire Henry
A Dublin man who had “no regard” for the safety of others when he led gardaí on two separate pursuits has been imprisoned for four years.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Dylan Reddington (28) of Cherry Orchard Grove, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, pleaded guilty to intentionally or recklessly engaging in conduct by driving a car at high speed and failing to stop for gardaí at numerous locations in Dublin on December 15, 2020.
He also pleaded guilty to driving a car on the wrong side of the road at high speed towards a garda car, causing it to take evasive action on October 7, 2021.
He has 65 previous convictions, including dangerous driving, endangerment and dangerous driving causing serious harm.
Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Pauline Codd said Reddington had no regard for the safety of other road users and was not entitled to be on the road at the time of these offences.
Judge Codd said the aggravating factors were the presence of others in the car in the first incident, one of whom was a minor; the duration of the offending; the fact that he was banned from driving when he committed one of the offences; the excess use of speed, and the fact that Reddington endangered the gardaí during the second pursuit.
The judge said she would consider the strides Reddington has made to address his drugs issues and past trauma as a mitigating factor. She said he has engaged well with his rehabilitation treatment. She also took his guilty plea, his remorse and apologies to the gardai into consideration.
Judge Codd sentenced Reddington to a global sentence of four years and placed him under the supervision of the probation services for two years post-release. She also disqualified him from driving for eight years.
Detective Garda Joanne Grogan told Derek Cooney BL, prosecuting, that she was on mobile patrol at 1:50 a.m. on December 15, 2020. She observed a car driving in a circle in a closed petrol station, and they followed the car, pulling alongside it when it was parked outside a house. Gardaí activated the blue lights on the unmarked garda car, and Reddington, who was driving the car, put the car into reverse and drove away.
The court heard that over the next thirty to thirty-five minutes, Reddington overtook cars dangerously, drove through red lights, drove the wrong way around a roundabout, drove at speed and drove on the wrong side of the road. Other garda patrol cars had to stop traffic, and the garda helicopter was also required.
The chase ended when Reddington drove into a residential estate in the Ballyfermot area. He mounted the green and collided with a concrete marker. Reddington left the car, was pursued on foot and was arrested. He was charged with dangerous driving and released on bail.
Det Gda Grogan agreed with Keith Spencer BL, defending that the pursuit happened at 2 am and the roads were quiet.
Det Gda Grogan then outlined a second incident that occurred ten months later. Gardaí from Ronanstown were on mobile patrol at 11 a.m. when they saw a red Ford Focus driving at speed up Cloverhill Road. Gardaí activated the blue garda lights, and the car, driven by Reddington, drove on the wrong side of the road.
The court heard that Reddington overtook cars when there was oncoming traffic, drove the wrong way around a roundabout and drove with excess speed. A second garda patrol car had to take evasive action when the red Focus being driven by Reddington drove directly toward it.
The pursuit ended when Reddington drove into a housing estate and mounted a footpath. He ran from the car and was arrested in a house in the Cherry Orchard area.
The detective agreed with the defence counsel that his client had completed sixteen months in residential treatment prior to the sentence he is currently serving.
Mr Spencer said his client has an appalling previous history of driving convictions, but he has never addressed matters like he is now. He said his client has written many letters to the gardaí to offer his apologies for his actions.
Counsel said he was diagnosed with ADHD as a child and this led to him getting involved with older people in the community who were involved in criminality. He said his client had been viciously attacked while in prison previously, and a tragic family death led the accused to turn to drugs upon his release from prison.
Mr Spencer handed many letters and character references to the court, which included letters from Reddington’s mother and sister and his own letter of apology, where he took responsibility for these offences.
Mr Spencer said his client wants to finish his prison sentence and “embed himself” into his family. He said he is now completely drug-free, and there is drug analysis before the court to support this.