Man with previous conviction for attempted murder jailed for possession of ammunition and criminal damage

By Niamh O’Donoghue

A man with a previous conviction for attempted murder has been given a two-year sentence for possession of ammunition and criminal damage.

The court heard Charles Darcy has 59 previous convictions and is now in custody serving a number of sentences.

He has convictions for offences including attempted murder, robbery, assault, possession of a realistic firearm, violent disorder, public order, criminal damage, assaulting a police officer, breach of bail and violent behaviour in a garda station.

Darcy (35), The Crescent Building, Parkwest, Dublin, pleaded guilty to possession of a .38 special calibre Sellier and Bellot ammunition at Junction 9 on the M50, Dublin 22 on May 26, 2018.

The father-of one also pleaded guilty to throwing a fire extinguisher through the window of Applegreen Service Station, Palmerstown on October 13, 2018.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that on May 26, 2018, the accused was found in a car on the hard shoulder of the M50 and there was a strong smell of cannabis in the car.

Detective Garda Neil McGrath told Tessa White BL prosecuting, when gardai searched him, they found a bullet in his pocket as well as a number of alprazolam tablets.

Under cross-examination Det Gda McGrath agreed with Mr Keith Spencer BL defending, that only a single bullet was found.

The bullet found had been put through his letterbox as a threat, Mr Spencer put it to the witness but the garda replied: “I couldn’t say”.

The court also heard that Darcy demanded cigarettes at a patrol station and when the shop assistant refused, he threw a fire extinguisher through the window. 

The court heard the vehicle he was travelling in was a Volkswagen Passat that had been stolen from a man the previous day and was later found burnt out in Coolock.

The driver of the car was previously sentenced the court heard, but there was no suggestion that Darcy had stolen it himself.

In mitigation Mr Spencer told the court his client came from a good family and was originally a member of the Travelling community. He didn’t get on well in school and found comfort and thrill-seeking behaviour in peer groups.

He had struggled with mental health and depression.

He said Darcy was beginning to turn the corner in prison and was drug-free. He is also willing to engage in an intensive probation programme on release.

The court heard he is serving a number of sentences and is due for release in September 2025.

Judge Orla Crowe noted he had a considerable history of offending and had a conviction for attempted murder.

She said he was a young man who has spent considerable amount of time in custody. She noted he was a member of the Travelling community and his domestic circumstances were adverse. He descended into drug addiction and spent a significant proportion of his life in custody.

The judge noted he had attended the prison’s education centre and had done courses including crime awareness, food safety and word processing which she noted was “entirely commendable”.

Judge Crowe also noted his counsel’s assertion that he is entirely drug-free, although there was nothing there to vouch for that, she said.

She also noted he was on bail in relation to these matters.

She said he was living a “lawless life”. 

The judge also noted he “may have been the subject of a threat”.

She handed down a two-year sentence but suspended the final six months and backdated it for time spent in custody.