Filling station thief jailed on same day his wife was due to give birth

A man who attempted to rob a Longford filling station, armed with an imitation firearm, has been sentenced to five years in prison on the same day his wife was due to give birth to his sixth child.

Noel McLoughlin (32), with an address at Ferefad, Ardagh Road, Longford, appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Longford Circuit Court last Thursday, January 11, where evidence was heard of the attempted armed robbery carried out at a local filling station in September.

Detective Garda Orla Geraghty confirmed to the court that, on September 14, 2023, the filling station owner opened his business at 6am.

At 8.17am, the owner noticed a male enter the shop with his hood up. This alerted his suspicions as the accused was attempting to hide his face.

The male approached one of the tills and asked for Amber Leaf tobacco. When the tobacco was handed over, Mr McLoughlin produced a gun and pointed it at the owner.

The owner, the court heard, was “shocked” and “distressed” and feared for himself and his staff. He told Mr McLoughlin to leave and the accused man walked out the door.

The filling station owner followed the accused into a housing estate where Mr McLoughlin stopped and pointed the gun at the owner again before turning and running away.

When describing the weapon to Gardaí, the filling station owner said it was a “longish” barrel pistol, dark grey in colour and that he believed it to be an imitation gun.

A ballistics report carried out on the weapon confirmed it to be a 6mm calibre revolver, branded Dan Wesson. The report stated the weapon was an air gun, designed to resemble a magnum revolver, which discarded pellets.

The gun was loaded with “inserts” which did not fall under the definition of ammunition.

An extensive Garda investigation was carried out in the aftermath of the incident. The firearm and a pair of gloves worn by the accused were recovered, as was a set of clothing Mr McLoughlin changed out of immediately after the incident.

Mr McLoughlin was arrested on September 15 and underwent a total of six interviews. It was only during the fifth interview, when he was presented with CCTV footage, that he began to cooperate and make admissions to Gardaí.

The accused man told Gardaí that he had worked alone, despite cycling to the filling station with another man he had previously met in prison and with whom he had been residing. When asked where he got the air gun, however, he exercised his right to silence.

Mr McLoughlin has 76 previous convictions dating from 2009 to 2023 and including one robbery, two burglaries, three possession of stolen property and three possession of knives.

In February 2023, the accused was given a one month prison sentence for burglary, which was suspended for a total of 24 months on the condition that he keep the peace and be of good behaviour. That suspended sentence was in place at the time of the offence before the courts this morning.

In mitigation, Mr Niall Flynn BL told the court that his client had a number of difficulties in his life, including limited education due to him leaving school after sixth class.

Mr McLoughlin also has dyslexia and a limited work history. He has had issues with addiction in the past, smoking and then injecting heroin from the age of 16, which was not long after he lost his older brother in tragic circumstances.

He also is the father of six children. Three of those, from a former partner, live in Wales. Two are with his current wife who was due to give birth to their third child together today.

“He's aware he's let all parties down. He's let himself down, he's let his children down and he's let his partner down who is expecting a baby today,” said Mr Flynn.

When passing judgement, Judge Connolly congratulated the Gardaí on such an extensive investigation and the production of a large book of evidence despite the accused going forward on a signed guilty plea.

Taking into account the aggravating factors, which included the nature of the offence, the act of producing a weapon during the course of an attempted robbery, the fear such an act would cause not just the victim but the surrounding members of the public and the extreme level of investigation required by Gardaí, Judge Connolly set a headline sentence of seven years and six months.

Mitigating factors included the fact that Mr McLoughlin came forward on a signed guilty plea and did not wish to waste any of the court's time by waiting for probation reports or testimonials - he simply wanted to receive his sentence and begin serving it.

The fact that the incident occurred over the course of just 42 seconds was also considered, however, Judge Connolly insisted that any crime of this nature is “very, very serious” regardless of how long it takes to perpetrate.

He also considered Mr McLoughlin's difficult circumstances, including a lack of education, some family issues, his addictions and the tragic loss of his brother when he was just 15 years old.

“He has had tragedy in his life and, unfortunately, he has perpetuated that tragedy by becoming involved in criminal activity,” said Judge Connolly.

After mitigation, a five year sentence was imposed. However, due to the fact this offence was committed while on a suspended sentence, Judge Connolly did not propose to suspend any portion of that five year stint.

“The notion of a suspended sentence is somewhat lost on him,” he said.

The sentence was backdated to September 15, 2023, when Mr McLoughlin was first detained by Gardaí.