Man who stole and crashed €80k car to get home after day out with partner jailed

Irish Daily Mirror

5 days ago

A Dublin man who stole a car in order to get home from a day out with his girlfriend in Greystones, Co Wicklow before crashing it and trying to hijack another vehicle has been jailed for five and half years.
Alan Melia, 31, of Cherry Orchard Avenue, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to the unauthorised taking of a vehicle as well as causing criminal damage to it to the value of €80,000 on February 9, 2024.
He also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of attempting to hijack another vehicle on the same date.
His girlfriend, Jade Burns, 21, of Beatty Park, Celbridge, Co Kildare, separately pleaded guilty to charges of trespass and allowing herself to be carried in a stolen vehicle.
A sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court heard that Melia had taken a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser from the driveway of a house at Blacklion, Greystones, Co Wicklow at around 7.30pm on the evening in question before crashing it a short distance away on Killincarrig Road, Greystones.
Garda witnesses described how Melia drove forward and crashed the vehicle into a garden wall with Burns in the passenger seat after the owner of the vehicle, his wife and another male had attempted to stop him driving away.
They told prosecution counsel, James Kelly BL, that the other male was struck by an open passenger door as Melia then reversed out of the driveway.
However, the owner of the Land Cruiser managed to get Burns out of the passenger seat from the vehicle before Melia made his getaway.
The court heard he appeared to have lost control a short distance away and crashed into an ESB pole while driving 'at significant speed'.
Gardaí said that Melia then attempted to hijack another vehicle from an eyewitness who had stopped his vehicle to assist the accused, thinking he might have been seriously injured.
Evidence was given that Melia jumped into the rear seat of a white Mercedes-Benz before trying to climb into the driver's seat. A struggle ensued between the accused and the driver, who managed to get out of the car with the keys of the vehicle.
Melia was then detained by a number of individuals until Gardaí arrived on the scene.
The driver of the Mercedes-Benz told Gardaí that Melia sounded incoherent and under the influence of something.
The accused was brought to St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin for treatment but was discharged a short time later and brought to Bray Garda station.
Melia, who was on bail at the time, made full admissions to Gardaí when interviewed the following morning, apart from disputing that he was trying to steal the Mercedes-Benz. The court heard he had 112 previous convictions.
Melia is already serving a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence imposed by the Court of Appeal over an incident in which he rammed Garda vehicles while driving the wrong way down the M1 motorway after robbing a petrol station in Northern Ireland on August 23, 2020.
Burns, who had no previous convictions, was also cooperative, although she did not identify Melia to Gardaí and could not remember the incident.
In a victim impact statement, the owner of the Toyota Land Cruiser said it was an incident he wanted to forget and his child still had nightmares about it.
The man said he had also suffered financially as he was out of work for weeks without his vehicle, while his motor insurance costs had also increased.
Under cross-examination by counsel for Melia, Colman FitzGerald SC, Gardaí acknowledged that the defendant wanted to take the jeep to drive home to Ballyfermot and agreed that it was not 'a planned enterprise'.
Mr FitzGerald told Judge John Martin that the accused had very significant difficulties in his life from a young age and was 'caught up in a flurry of drug-taking and criminality'.
'There is a chaotic and criminal rhythm to his life,' Mr FitzGerald noted.
Counsel for Burns, Comfort Odesola BL, said she was deeply remorseful and embarrassed about her actions.
Ms Odesola said the accused had been brought up in foster care but had turned to drug abuse after she was 18.
She told the court that Burns was hanging out with her boyfriend on the day before they decided to go to Greystones and there was no intention to commit any burglary.
The barrister said what happened had been a catalyst for Burns to make changes and to take life more seriously.
She noted that the accused was assessed as being at a moderate risk of reoffending due to being unemployed but stressed that she had 'cleaned up her act' and had been drug-free since the incident.
Judge Martin said the evidence about Melia was 'most unimpressive' and noted that he had threatened a prison governor while in jail.
Commenting on a report from the prison governor, where he was described as 'nothing but trouble', the judge said he had 'never seen one like it'.
He also observed that Melia was 'no stranger' to the unauthorised taking of vehicles.
'It was appalling behaviour. There is no other word for it,' said the judge.
He claimed Melia had shown a persistence in attempting to take the vehicle and was 'determined to drive it like a dodgem'.
The judge imposed sentences of six and a half years imprisonment for the criminal damage to the vehicle, four years for stealing it and four years for the attempted hijack, with all terms to run concurrently.
Judge Martin said he would suspend the final 12 months of the sentence for a period of two years to encourage rehabilitation and on condition that Melia places himself under the supervision of the Probation Service on his release and attend addiction counselling.
He sentenced Burns to 18 months in prison for being carried in a stolen vehicle and six months for the trespass offence but suspended both sentences fully on condition she places herself under the supervision of the Probation Service for a period of two years.
Addressing Burns, the judge remarked: 'You got in with a bad lot and they have brought you down.'
He also observed that she might not be in court if she had been in the stolen vehicle with Melia after he drove away.
On her relationship with her co-accused, he advised: 'Maybe you could do better for yourself.'
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