A man who ended up crashing through a shop window when he tried to mug a US military policeman using a roll of tin foil has being jailed.
Brian Kavanagh (33) was on a cocktail of drugs when he attacked Christian Escobar who was on holidays in Dublin.
Kavanagh came up behind Mr Escobar and tried to pull his backpack off him. The soldier believed Kavanagh was armed with a silver bar but this later turned out to be a roll of tin foil.
Mr Escobar held onto the bag and during a scuffle the two men crashed through the window of a retail shop causing around €2,000 of damage, including €600 to dresses on display in the window.
Garda Theresa Brady told John Quirke BL, prosecuting, that she arrived at the scene and saw security men restraining Kavanagh. He was behaving in an extremely violent manner and tried to headbutt the security guards and later headbutted a glass partition in the garda station.
She said Kavanagh wasn't fit to be interviewed for another six hours but later offered an apology to the victim. Mr Escobar sustained severe tendon damage to his wrist as a result of falling through the window.
Kavanagh of St. Columbanus Rd., Dundrum, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to attempted robbery at Johnson's Place in Dublin city on July 15, 2018. Counts of assault causing harm and violent behaviour in a police station were taken into consideration.
Andrew King BL, defending, said his client had had difficulties with alcohol and heroin and had a litany of previous convictions including burglary and robbery.
Judge Karen O'Connor noted Kavanagh has 147 previous convictions. She said his previous efforts to address his addictions had been unsuccessful.
She jailed Kavanagh for two years and nine months. Judge O'Connor had offered Kavanagh the opportunity to engage with the Probation Services before passing a sentence but he had declined the invitation and insisted on being sentenced today.