Robber set his “ferocious” pitbull dog on victim

By Isabel Hayes

A man was bitten repeatedly in the leg by a “ferocious” pitbull, after a robber set the animal on him, a court has heard.

Colm Bergin (26) with an address at Bunratty Drive, Coolock, Dublin, carried out two robberies of commuters on the morning in question, using his dog as a threat on the first victim and setting the animal upon the second victim. He was jailed for four and a half years.

Bergin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of robbery at addresses in Artane on November 17, 2023 and one count of failing to keep his dog under control. He has 22 previous convictions.

The court heard the first victim was on his way to work around 8.30am that morning when Bergin approached him, told him to hand over his mobile phone and said he would get the dog to bite him. Bergin also threatened to stab the man.

The victim handed over €25 in cash and Bergin left the scene on his bicycle, with the dog running along beside him on a lead.

A short while later, also in Artane, the second victim was walking to his bus stop when Bergin tapped him on the shoulder and told him: “Give me everything you have.”

When the man refused, Bergin set his dog on him and, when the man started running away, he hit at him with his bike. The man fell to the ground and the pitbull bit him two to three times on his leg, drawing blood.

Bergin robbed his backpack and the man managed to make his way back to his house, where a neighbour called an ambulance. He was taken to hospital and treated for his wounds.

In a victim impact statement read out by Jane Horgan-Jones BL, prosecuting, the man said he wasn’t able to walk properly for six months after the dog attack, that he still suffers back pain and has anxiety and recurring nightmares.

Bergin used the man’s card to make purchases in a local shop and he was arrested later that day after gardaí recognised him on CCTV footage. The victim’s backpack containing his laptop and wallet were recovered.

Michael Hourican SC, defending, said Bergin made full admissions to gardaí and expressed remorse. He said he had relapsed in his drug addiction. The court heard Bergin is a qualified dog trainer. He and his partner have seven children between them.

Sentencing him, Judge Martin Nolan said Bergin’s offending involved “setting a ferocious dog on this injured party”, which he described as “serious violence”.

He set a headline sentence of six years, which he reduced to four and a half years, taking mitigating factors into account.

He backdated it to when Bergin went into custody late last year.