Man who smashed windows and cars with a hammer in housing estate rampage jailed

Sunday World

25-07-2025

Stephen Collins (34) carried out 'an appalling spree of violence' at St Mary's Crescent, Westport
Windows from the Order of Malta at St John's Place, Westport, and the nearby HSE residential unit, as well as multiple parked cars, were indiscriminately damaged as a result of the rampage by Stephen Collins. Photo: Conor McKeown
The Order of Malta building in Westport, which had its windows smashed by Stephen Collins Photo: Conor McKeown
Multiple properties were damaged as a result of the rampage by Stephen Collins. Photo: Conor McKeown
A man who caused €55,000 of criminal damage with a hammer during a rampage at a Westport housing estate that was home to a number of vulnerable adults has been sentenced to five-and-half-years in jail.
Stephen Collins of St Mary's Villa, Westport, caused extensive damage to cars and buildings during a drug-fuelled rampage.
Collins, who has 100 previous convictions, had been staying with a relative in Westport at the time of the incident, which occurred in the early hours of September 27, 2024.
The 34-year-old used a hammer to smash windows and damage parked vehicles in the estate that was home to vulnerable adults with special needs.
When gardaí arrived on the scene, Collins threatened them with the hammer and refused to desist. After being subdued with the assistance of the Armed Support Unit, he was arrested and conveyed to Westport Garda Station. He was remanded in custody and pleaded guilty to criminal damage prior to Friday's sitting of Castlebar Circuit Court.
The Order of Malta building in Westport, which had its windows smashed by Stephen Collins Photo: Conor McKeown
The court heard that Collins had been staying with a relative at St Mary's Villa, Westport, when he took a hammer and smashed the windows of parked vehicles and damaged a wheelchair accessible bus beyond repair in St Mary's Crescent.
Collins then proceeded to shatter the windows at the Westport Order of Malta headquarters before smashing the windows at the HSE-owned Mayo Community Living facility.
Three highly dependent wheelchair users with complex medical needs were asleep in the facility at the time.
One resident with dementia woke with glass on their bed as the defendant proceeded to shatter bedroom, sitting room and kitchen windows and damage the front door. He also shouted at staff and residents and threatened to kill them.
Staff took measures to ensure the residents were safe before locking themselves in the bathrooms on garda advice.
A car in Westport damaged by Stephen Collins Photo: Conor McKeown
Collins caused a total of €55,595.68 in damage to the HSE building, several vehicles and the Order of Malta building.
Garda Paul Harte told the court that he and a garda colleague arrived at St Mary's Villas at 3.33am. When they attempted to speak to Collins, he went into a property and re-emerged with a claw-hammer.
Gda Harte requested the assistance of the Garda Armed Support Unit (ASU) as Collins refused to drop the hammer as requested.
While waiting for the ASU to arrive, Collins smacked the hammer off the wall and made 'numerous threats' against everybody present.
The ASU arrived 30 minutes later and tasered Collins after he again refused to drop the hammer. He was then subdued, arrested and conveyed to Westport Garda Station, where he refused to answer any questions.
The court heard that the residents had to move to another facility for two weeks while their home was being repaired. This, the court was told, was 'very challenging' for the residents and staff, who changed their work location to support the residents.
Ellie Ryder, a social care worker with Mayo Community Living, said, in a victim impact statement read to the court: 'To describe how these three people [residents] must have felt being woken to hear a man shouting threats at the two staff members and hearing their windows being broken in their home cannot be captured in words.'
Multiple properties were damaged as a result of the rampage by Stephen Collins. Photo: Conor McKeown
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'Their home, their safe haven, was violated, and being unable to get up to defend themselves or get out of harm's way must have been terrifying.'
She described the residents as 'some of the most vulnerable citizens in our community, who have enjoyed a peaceful existence since moving to Westport'.
'Neighbours called the day after this incident to offer their support and kept saying, 'This is not what happens in Westport. It doesn't happen in our community.' Sadly, this is no longer true,' she added.
'We have tried to assure the residents that this should never have happened, that they are safe, but the events of that night, the trauma suffered, will take a long time for these residents to forget. It is hard for them to trust that they are, indeed, safe in their own homes and safe in their own beds when they go to bed at night.'
Ms Ryder herself experienced panic attacks in the following weeks and had to attend a GP. She was unable to work nights again for six months due to the trauma she experienced.
She said that Collins created 'an atmosphere of chaos and complete terror' on the night. Both she and her colleague, Sylvia Davitt, spent the following day in hospital due to the distress caused by the incident.
'I truly believed we would not make it out alive,' said Ms Ryder, who continues to experience flashbacks of the incident.
Both Ms Ryder and Michael Geraghty, a resident of St Mary's Crescent, had their cars damaged beyond repair by Collins. Mr Geraghty said that the safe feeling of the area had been 'disrupted".
Collins' barrister, Christina Burke, BL, said her client endured a traumatic childhood and had been a drug user from the age of 15.
The court heard Collins had been released from prison in February 2024 and was engaged to a mother of two children.
His previous convictions include threats to kill, endangerment, robbery, trespassing, public order offences, possession of an article, possession of a fake instrument and 47 road traffic offences. He has spent ten years of his life in jail.
Ms Burke said Collins had taken drugs on the night of his latest offence, for which he expressed 'shame and considerable thought in respect of the victims he wronged'.
The court heard Collins had been diagnosed in PTSD and grew up with a violent father in a family who were involved in crime.
Judge Eoin Garavan said Collins made a 'calculated decision to go out and destroy some of the neighbourhood.
He acknowledged Collins' 'brutalised upbringing' but refused to suspend any of the sentence, describing his actions as 'an appalling spree of violence'.
Judge Garavan noted that Collins was deemed to be at 'very high risk' of reoffending and imposed a five-and-a-half-year custodial sentence.