Man who stole his ex-partner’s car jailed after he led gardaí on a chase in Dublin City Centre

By Eimear Dodd

A man who stole his ex-partner’s car then led gardai on a chase in Dublin City Centre over three years ago has been jailed for two years.

Neil Robertson (24) pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous driving, driving while intoxicated, criminal damage and theft of an iphone and a car on January 23, 2022.

Judge Elma Sheahan yesterday imposed a sentence of two and a half years, with the final six months suspended for 12 months on strict conditions.

The judge said Robertson had placed gardai and the public at “significant risk of injury” through his actions.

She said the seriousness of the offending was among the aggravating factors of the case.

The judge also noted the mitigation in the case, including Robertson’s early guilty plea, his level of co-operation with gardai and his circumstances.

The judge noted that Robertson was intoxicated at the time of this offending and while this was not an excuse, it provided context.

She said urine analysis shows he is drug-free and Robertson has been actively seeking a residential treatment place, but has yet to obtain one.

Judge Sheahan said information provided to the court indicated he had made “real progress” after previously attending residential treatment.

The judge directed Robertson to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Services after his release, to attend residential treatment if a place  become available and submit to random drug testing.

She also imposed the mandatory driving disqualification of four years and backdated the sentence  to when Robertson went into custody

Garda Shane Fahy previously gave evidence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Robertson had gone for drinks the night before the incident with his ex-partner and two others.

Robertson’s ex-partner woke up the next morning to find her car and iphone missing.

Gardai on patrol spotted the car heading towards Heuston Station around 7am and signalled for it to stop, but it didn’t.

They lost sight of the car, but it was seen driving inbound on the Naas Road at 8.50am.

During the pursuit, the car was seen swerving in and out of traffic several times and did not stop at traffic lights.

Other vehicles had to brake sharply to avoid a collision.

The car mounted a centre island, and both tyres on the driver’s side blew out. It continued at speed and sparks were observed.

At a junction on Dolphin Road, the car again broke red lights and drove on the wrong side of the road before crossing back to the other side.

The vehicle came to a stop, and when gardai approached, Robertson took off at speed again, overtaking and swerving in and out of lanes.

At a junction on Grove Road, the car lost control and collided with a grey Toyota Corolla.

The driver of the car and a child passenger sustained soft tissue damage and were taken to hospital to be checked out.

Robertson also caused minor damage to the car door of a garda car when he opened his car door.

He was arrested and gardai noticed signs of intoxication.

A blood sample later taken at the garda station showed a blood alcohol reading of 84mg per 100ml. Robertson had also taken other substances including cocaine.

The court heard that the car Robertson was driving, which was valued at €12,000, was written off while €4,000 worth of damage was caused to the Toyota Corolla.

Repairs to the door of the garda car cost appropriately €350.

Gda Fahy noted that insurance premiums increased for Robertson’s ex-partner in the wake of this incident. Her phone was recovered.

A victim impact statement was handed to the court.

Robertson of Strand Road, Dublin 4, has 17 previous convictions including road traffic offences, theft and criminal damage.

Gda Fahy agreed with defence counsel that his client was not interviewed due to his level of intoxication.

Counsel said his instructions were that Robertson took the car to get cigarettes while intoxicated and then noticed gardai.

He said Robertson wanted to apologise to all the parties involved.

Gda Fahy agreed Robertson was co-operative and apologetic in his dealings with gardai, describing him as “one of the most co-operative prisoners I’ve ever dealt with”.

It was further accepted that Robertson’s guilty plea was of assistance and that he provided a blood sample to gardai for testing.