“Jekyll and Hyde” robber jailed

By CCC Reporters

A drug user with a “Jekyll and Hyde personality” has been jailed for five years and nine months for a spate of offences in the city.

Paul Cullen (45) also tried to rob a bookmakers while wearing a hazmat suit before disposing it at a hospital mortuary.

Cullen of Clonmacnoise Road, Crumlin, appeared via video link from Midlands Prison for sentencing by Judge Orla Crowe at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. He had pleaded guilty to offences including assault causing harm, robbery, attempted robbery and theft over seven bills.

Passing sentence, Judge Crowe said, “this was clearly a spree of offending and drugs were clearly at the core, the centre of this offending”. She noted that there was “a total of seven bills before me today.”

Judge Crowe said the aggravating factors in each of these bills were the accused’s previous convictions, that he used weapons such as a meat cleaver, a screwdriver, a claw hammer and an imitation firearm. She also noted the threats he used against the injured parties and the sums of money taken.

The judge said the mitigating factors in the case were his guilty pleas, his addiction, which has blighted his life, that he was a rough sleeper and adversity in his childhood.

Judge Crowe sentenced Cullen to a global sentence of six years and nine months and suspended the final 12 months for a period of two years. She also placed him under the supervision of the Probation Services for one year upon release from prison.

The court heard evidence at a hearing last week that Cullen punched a man in the face before he fell to the ground sustaining a broken ankle at a Luas stop before Christmas.

Cullen, who has over 140 previous convictions, also left a taxi without paying a €30 fare having tried to rob a café in George’s Street Dock because his counsel said he “appeared not to have realised it was a cashless premises.”

On December 20, 2022 he assaulted a man at Stephen’s Green Luas. The injured party gave a statement he was at the southside platform at the Luas at Stephen’s Green when he was punched by Cullen and stumbled to the ground. The victim suffered facial injuries and a broken ankle. He was then seen on CCTV searching through his pockets. Cullen took the man’s phone, watch, bank cards and whatever cash he had on him.

The court heard the injured party had blood around his face and a broken right ankle. He was brought to St James’ Hospital and then to Laya Healthcare in Cherrywood before being taken to The Beacon Hospital.

Among items taken from the victim were a mobile phone worth €200 and black watch worth €400, which he was “particularly exercised about” because his father had given to it him. A victim impact statement was handed into court but it was not read out.

Cullen pleaded guilty to an attempted robbery at George Frederick Handel hotel in Fishamble Street in Dublin 2 on May 9, 2023. At approximately 7.50am he entered the hotel and went to the receptionist’s desk. Cullen produced a meat cleaver and demanded money from the receptionist but “she had got her wits about her” and did not give him any but he tried to grab her phone before leaving. Gardai were able to track the suspect a to local public house as he was changing his clothes and he revealed his face to CCTV and he was recognised by gardai.

The court heard Cullen entered Boyle Sports Bookmakers with a screwdriver on May 11, 2023 and took €7,400 in cash, which was never recovered.

In another incident Cullen entered Bear Market Café in the IFSC on May 19, 2023 and demanded money from two staff members. He got no money and fled in a taxi driven by a 65-year-old man and left without paying his €30 fare. His defence counsel said he appeared to not “have realised it was a cashless premises.”

He also pleaded guilty to an attempted robbery at Paddy Power Bookmakers on James’ Street on May 23, 2023 wearing a white hazmat suit and there was CCTV footage of him with a claw hammer. Two female workers were told by Cullen that he would “smash the place up” , but the staff did not give Cullen any money. The court heard Cullen fled towards Basin St flats in Dublin 8 and then to St. James’ Hospital mortuary. He removed the hazmat suit in the mortuary carpark where gardai later found it near the pedestrian gates in a salt and grit bin. The hazmat suit had scorch marks indicative of efforts to burn it, the court was told.

The court also heard he entered a beauty salon on Dorset St in the north inner city brandishing a hammer and approached the till demanding money and took cash.

In a separate incident, Cullen entered an estate agents in Dublin 7 with his hands down his pants demanding money and saying “don’t make me use it”. The court heard he told the staff he “had a full clip and he didn’t want to hurt anyone and he had a debt.”

The court heard at an earlier hearing that Cullen contracted Hepatitis C from drug use. His sister died tragically in 2017, the court was told. Shaun Smyth BL, defending, said in mitigation “he does apologise” but his “chaotic history with drugs” turned him into a “ Jekyll and Hyde” personality.

Counsel said Cullen remains drug free but was unwilling to provide a sample for urine analysis as he said he was “terrified” because he had inhaled so much second hand smoke while in prison from inmates on remand. Judge Crowe noted Cullen’s concern about second hand smoke inhalation but said he appeared healthy