'Dangerous' 18-year-old jailed for 13 years

Judge White said Wright presented the court with "huge difficulty" in this very "unusual case" with regard to the 18 year-old’s background and the court’s duty to society,.

He suspended the last four years of Wright’s prison term and granted a certificate of leave to appeal severity of sentence.

Wright, of Droim na Coille Avenue, Ballyowen Lane, Lucan, stabbed a youth in the leg during a robbery at Stephen’s Green and at a later date hijacked two cars from women shopping at Liffey Valley.

In another incident, he created a 15 minute stand off with gardai in Lucan while armed with a knife and threatening to go into a house and kill the occupants.

Wright also violently resisted arrest in Skerries where he spat at, tried to bite and grabbed the testicles of a male garda.

He physically attacked gardai at the Children Court and threatened to shoot one in the head saying: "I have a bullet waiting for you when I get out."

Defence counsel, Mr Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC (with Ms Caroline Biggs BL), said Wright faced "extreme" difficulties and had very serious problems which had led to his "outrageous violent behaviour".

Judge White had considered several health service, probation, psychiatric and risk assessment reports on Wright which he said made sobering reading and suggested that while the teenager could be clear and articulate he was disposed to violence and was at a "very high risk of reoffending".

One report described Wright as dangerous to both himself and the public with an anger so great it was uncontrollable. It added that he was extremely damaged by serious emotional and physical neglect as an infant and had a bleak future.

Wright pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery and one of assault causing harm at Stephen’s Green on July 21, 2005, as well as production of a knife while resisting arrest at South Circular Road on the same date.

He entered guilty pleas to criminal damage and possession of a weapon at Droim na Coille Avenue and to escape from custody at Lucan Garda Station on February 1, 2006, while on bail for the previous offence.

He also admitted two counts of unlawful seizures of cars and one of robbery of a female at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre on March 17, 2006, and of assault of a garda at Clondalkin and two counts of assaulting gardai at Ronanstown Garda Station on the same date.

Guilty pleas were entered to criminal damage and assaulting a garda causing him harm at Kelly’s Bay, Skerries, on February 27, 2006 and threatening to kill a garda and two counts of assault causing harm at the Children Court, Smithfield, on June 22, 2006.

Garda Terry Gleeson told Paul Carroll BL, prosecuting, that Wright was armed with four knives when he stabbed a young male in the thigh while he robbed a group of boys of their mobile phones at Stephen’s Green.

Gda Gleeson said it took ten gardai to arrest Wright shortly after the robbery. He produced a large kitchen knife and swung at gardai threatening to stab them but was eventually cornered.

Gda Mark Rowntree told Mr Carroll that several months later gardai were called to an area of Lucan after Wright tried to enter his girlfriend’s family home brandishing two knives. He was stopped by the girl’s father and broke the front window of the house.

Wright lunged at gardaí with a knife when they arrived. He then smashed the blue light of the patrol car and ran into a garden in which a woman noticed him in a "highly strung state" threatening to stab himself.

Gda Rowntree said a stand-off began between Wright and gardai during which he cut himself and threatened to go into the woman’s house and kill the occupants until his aunt arrived and convinced him to put down the knife.

He was put in a cell in Lucan Garda Station where he was seen banging his head off the wall before he kicked open the door and escaped while handcuffed. He was found the following day at his aunt’s house.

Gda Rowntree said Wright was released on bail and a month later used a sharp implement to hijack a car from a woman at Liffey Valley. He told the woman he would stab her and demanded her car keys and bag. She managed to run to passers-by and Wright took off in her vehicle.

He crashed the car near the edge of the M4 and tried to flag down passing motorists. Gardai arrived and he kicked and punched as they approached him. He found a car battery and threw it at one garda before re-entering the shopping centre car park.

Gda Rowntree said Wright then jumped into the back seat of a car being driven by a woman with her 14 year-old son. He "roared" at her to drive or he would "cut her up". She was "petrified" but drove out of the car park and towards a roundabout where a garda patrol car spotted the vehicle.

The woman stopped the car in traffic and gardaí opened the back doors to arrest Wright who violently resisted them, kicking, spitting and throwing punches. He was taken to Ronanstown Garda Station where he spat blood at two gardai.

Gda Rowntree said Wright was "very dangerous to the public" and said witnesses to the incidents described him as being "out of his head" and a "man possessed".

Gda Declan McGavery told the court that Wright was one of three youths involved in an incident in Skerries during which he damaged the door of a house. A male garda arrived at the scene and chased Wright.

Wright confronted the garda, pulled out a knife and lunged at him stopping half an inch from the garda’s eye saying "you’ve asked for it, I’m going to stab you, I’m going to kill you".

The garda drew his baton and grappled with Wright who violently resisted by spitting in the garda’s face a number of times, trying to bite him, grabbing his testicles and punching him in the face. The garda was taken to hospital by ambulance after succeeding in cuffing Wright.

Detective Garda John Byrne described how, on another occasion, Wright was brought from the Bridewell to the Children Court when he head butted a garda splitting the garda’s lip and spat at Det Gda Byrne and another detective. He kicked gardai at the court’s cell area and told one: "I’ll shoot you in the forehead, I have a bullet waiting for you when I get out."