A 20-year-old father of two who subjected a couple to a “terrible ordeal” when he attempted to hijack their car has been jailed for six years.
Tyler Lewis of North Main Street in Youghal, Co Cork approached a couple in a car park in the Grand Parade in Cork city on July 30th of this year.
Cork Circuit Criminal Court heard that the pair were having a cigarette by their car, when Lewis approached them looking for a light.
Bizarrely, Lewis was wearing a pair of yellow Marigold gloves.
He hijacked the car and told the couple he “wanted to bring them somewhere.”
Mr Lewis pleaded guilty to possession of a knife, unlawful seizure of a car, threatening to stab the male victim and false imprisonment at the car park at Grand Parade in Cork City's centre.
Nervous
Garda Mary Enneguess said Lewis made the couple uncomfortable when he approached them. “He had difficulty lighting the cigarette. He was wearing Marigold yellow rubber gloves. He asked them what they were doing. They became nervous and got into their car but the male jumped into the back seat.
“The female passenger jumped out and the defendant produced a 15cm knife which he pointed at the driver.
“He shouted at her to get back into the car, or he would stab her boyfriend. He said ‘get in or I will stab him’. She believed he would carry out his threat. They asked him what he wanted with their car, and he said he wanted to bring them somewhere.
“The woman feared for her life.”
Fled the scene
The Garda said that the female victim faked a panic attack in order to get Lewis out of their car.
Shortly after 7pm on the evening of the incident he fled the scene and started removing identifying clothing and dumping them in bins on nearby South Main Street.
Lewis, who was under the influence of drugs, was subsequently apprehended. He was so heavily drugged that he needed to be treated by a doctor during garda questioning.
CCTV footage was trawled from throughout the city centre on the night of the offence.
Lewis was caught on camera purchasing the rubber gloves and knife in a shop. The court heard the knife used in the incident was recovered in nearby Bishop Lucey park.
Previous convictions
The court was told that Lewis had 31 previous convictions. He was on the streets after being given a two years suspended sentence for another crime in Mullingar Circuit Court in 2019.
Barrister Alice Fawsitt said her client was battling addiction and had a drugs debt.
She said he had made some headway with his addictions and felt the massive burden of missing the birth of his second child through his actions.
She added that Lewis was still in contact with his girlfriend and was keen to be a father to his children.
Judge Sean O’Donnabhain said Lewis made serious threats against the couple putting them in fear for their lives.
Violent, dangerous and bizarre
He said his behaviour of the defendant was “violent, dangerous and bizarre. Both victims were put under extreme stress and are now constantly scared because of what happened to them.
“He has a very bad history of crime and has been dealt with properly and leniently by courts over the years. He was on a bond after a two year suspended sentence when this happened and I will be sending him back to Mullingar court where that sentence will probably now be activated.”
The Judge sentenced Lewis to a total of six years in prison arising out of the harm he caused to “two innocent victims”.
He said he also had to be cognisant of the fact that Lewis he was on a suspended sentence when he re-offended.
