TWO MEN HAVE been jailed for nine years for causing “life-changing injuries” to a 93-year-old woman during a robbery, where she was knocked to the ground and dragged along the road as she tried to hang on to her handbag after collecting her pension.
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that the woman was left in “excruciating pain” following what Judge Helen Boyle described as a “scarcely comprehensible act of thuggery in broad daylight,” at St Luke’s in the city on 9 November, 2022.
The woman needed 24-hour care in the aftermath of the robbery. She was a “prisoner in her own home” having sustained multiple fractures to her pelvis in the harrowing incident which occurred six months ago today.
However, the “brave and courageous” pensioner has made significant progress in recent weeks. She is now out of her wheelchair and walking with the aid of a Rollator walker.
Detective Inspector Denis Lynch told the court that on the afternoon of 9 November 2022, the woman left her home to collect her pension at St Luke’s post office in the north side of Cork city.
At 4.30pm she walked out of post office and along Wellington Road. Her journey was captured on CCTV. As she turned off on to Charlemont Terrace, where there was no CCTV, she felt her bag being caught off her shoulder from behind.
Detective Inspector Lynch said that the woman tried to hold on to her bag. As she looked around she saw two men who were later identified as Damien Long (32), of no fixed abode and formerly of Ardbhaile in Mayfield in Cork, and 35-year-old Damian Fitzgerald of Inniscarra Road in Fairhill, Cork.
“One of the males was running off as the other male continued to pull violently at the bag. As a result of the force being applied, the woman fell to the ground and one of the males ran off with her bag.
Both males ran in the same direction towards town, the woman was in instant pain and screamed for assistance and help.”
Detective Inspector Lynch said that the property taken from the woman included her handbag which contained her purse, cards, driving licence, her house and car keys and mobile phone. Despite an extensive search the property was never recovered.
He added that the victim sustained life-changing injuries in the incident.
“She sustained multiple fractures to her pelvis and is in constant pain since this incident.”
He told Judge Boyle that a woman came to the assistance of the elderly lady following the attack.
“She described how earlier she observed two males who she described as having their hoods up near Griffith College and she saw them cross the road and she thought instinctively that something was wrong.
“She heard a female voice screaming and went back. She saw the elderly female that passed her a short time earlier was the female on Charlemont Terrace screaming for help and she told her she had been mugged.”
A man was also on Wellington Road when he heard a woman screaming. As the two men came out of Charlemont Terrace he attempted to trip one and and stop the other. However, they made their escape. He immediately contacted gardaí.
Long and Fitzgerald were arrested on 12 November, 2022. Fitzgerald exercised his right to silence during his garda interviews.
Long denied being on Wellington Road on the day of the offence. He also denied involvement in the robbery. Both men were charged with robbery on 14 November and have been in custody since.
In a victim impact statement, read in to evidence by a member of her family, the pensioner said that she was living a “full and independent life” before the robbery.
“I enjoyed shopping and cooking for myself, driving myself to play bridge twice a week, going in to town to get mass and browse the shops and especially attending social gatherings with family and friends.”
The woman said that the pandemic had put a “long pause” to her enjoyment of normal life. However, with the easing of restrictions she had regained her independence and was back attending social gatherings . She had even gone on a weekend away with the “girls” with whom she played bridge.
“I had re-entered normal life. Then came that awful afternoon in November when I was attacked and robbed not just of my handbag but of my recent regained normal life. I never in my life experienced such fear.
“I could not comprehend how such a horrible act could happen to a 93-year-old woman. The multiple fractures I sustained as a result of being knocked to the ground left me in excruciating pain and a prisoner in my home for many months.
“The ordeal affected my confidence, led to long, restless nights and negatively impacted my overall health. I was put on massive doses of pain killers. I was still in great pain on a daily basis for a number of months.
I had to rely on my family to move me from bed to bathroom to chair. They had to provide 24-hour care for me. I consider myself very lucky to have had such a wonderful family.”
The woman said the attack had left her unable to “walk down town” from her home which was part of her routine of over 60 years.
The victim said she gone to court on 24 April anticipating that she would have to give evidence at the trial of the two men. However, after the jury was selected the men entered guilty pleas.
She said that they could have spared her the ordeal of going to court by entering a plea at an earlier stage.
She thanked gardaí including members of the Community Garda team for their assistance. She also paid tribute to her legal team.
Fitzgerald and Long pleaded guilty in April to robbing the pensioner of a handbag containing €588, a purse, a PTSB card, a Revolut card, a driving licence, a public services card, house keys and a Galaxy mobile phone on the day in question.
The pair have 313 previous convictions between them. Both men submitted letters of apology — to the victim and to the court.
Defence counsel, Jane Hyland SC for Long said that whilst it was a terrible crime her client played a lesser role as he was the person seen running away.
“It is fair to say it was not Long who pulled the unfortunate lady to the ground.”
Hyland added that her client also suffered from drug addiction. Both men had endured dysfunctional upbringings.
Defence counsel, Seamus Roche SC for Fitzgerald said his client had “significant addiction issues” to hard drugs including heroin and crack cocaine.
In sentencing both men to nine years in prison Judge Boyle said that the men had preyed on a “brave and courageous lady.” She stated that the pensioner was a “sprightly” woman who had seen her life turned upside down overnight.
Judge Boyle said that it was “amazing” that the women had progressed to being able to walk with the aid of a walker. She described the offence as being at the “higher end of robbery” and noted that although Long played a lesser role in the offence it was still part of a “joint enterprise.” He also committed the crime when he was on a suspended sentence for another offence.
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