Took part in seven robberies in three months to feed habit
DEFENDANT PRODUCED KNIFE DURING ROBBERY OF CHEMISTS
A FORMER top-class chef who robbed a Drogheda chemists' shop at knifepoint took part in seven robberies in three months to feed his heroin addiction, the circuit court has been told.
Desmond Dunne, a 35-year-old with an address at Kenilworth Road, Harold's Cross, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dundalk Circuit Court last week to robbery at Hickey's Pharmacy, Wheaton Hall, on May 12th 2010.
Judge Michael O'shea was told that Dunne, a former chef who had worked in some of the capital's top restaurants, went into Hickey's shortly before 5.30pm and produced a Stanley knife to three women behind the counter. He ordered the pharmacist to empty the fridge and hand over a large quantity of drugs.
A second man appeared behind Dunne and ordered the women to empty the safe.
Dunne got away with around €9,000 worth of drugs, including Xanax, morphine and diazepam and €950 in cash was also stolen. Three days later, Dunne was arrested by Gardai in Dublin who found most of the drugs stolen from Hickey's in a bag they found on Dunne.
Gardai told the judge that the three women who were victims of the robbery were very upset by the incident and were a bit more afraid since offence.
Barrister Luigi Rea said Dunne the Drogheda robbery had come at the end of a seven-incident spree which took place between February and May 2010. His client is a highly qualified chef and had worked in some of Dublin's top restaurants but when the recession kicked in, he couldn't afford to buy heroin and got involved in a number of robberies.
Dunne, who works in the kitchens in prison, is now on methadone and has been in custody since May 2010. He has already received a four-year sentence for the six other robberies he was involved in and also has a five-year suspended sentence hanging over him and was determined to sort his life out when he is released from prison.
Judge O'shea said that while the robbery may not have looked very well planned, it was clear the pharmacy was carefully selected. He said Dunne was someone who ' had started out with an exceptionally high standard of work, dropped off the work radar because of his drugs use'.
Judge O'shea sentenced Dunne to three-and-a-half years.
