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Man gets 10 year sentence for armed robbery at city jewellers
Galway Bay fm newsroom – A Dublin criminal has been sentenced to ten years in prison with the last eighteen months suspended for his part in armed robbery at a city jewellery shop five years ago.
29 year-old, Gavin Carabini, of Our Lady’s Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, first appeared for trial before Galway Circuit Criminal Court last June.
He had pleaded guilty to robbing 28 Rolex and 18 Cartier watches, worth more than a hundred thousand euro from Hartmann Jewellers on November 28, 2008.
The matter was adjourned to yesterday for sentence.
Sergeant Peter Conlon told the sentencing hearing that Carabini was one of three armed and masked men who entered Hartmann’s jewellery shop around 1pm. that day.
Co-accused Eugene Cullen, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence, had a pistol with a silencer attached, while Carabini and the third man, who was never caught, had iron bars.
Three female staff and one customer were ordered to lie on the floor while Cullen used the gun to smash a glass cabinet containing the watches.
The other gang members dumped the shelves of watches into a pillowcase.
The raid lasted a minute before the gang ran to a waiting BMW being driven by a fourth man at Eglinton Street.
It drove at speed down the wrong side of the road onto Woodquay where it collided with a car.
They abandoned the BMW and got into a blue Volvo car and sped out the Headford Road.
A major manhunt, involving a Garda helicopter, took place in the Athenry area
and Carabini was captured that afternoon in a wooded area near the town.
Carabini, who has 63 previous convictions for burglary, firearms offences, thefts and handling stolen property, is already serving a four-and-a-half year sentence for other offences.
Imposing sentence, Judge Rory McCabe said the gang had showed wanton disregard for human life.
Hearing Carabini was rehabilitating himself while in prison, the judge suspended the final eighteen months of the sentence for five years.
The death has occurred of the former Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Martin Drennan, six years after he announced his retirement on health grounds. He was aged 78.
The Galway Diocesan Office confirmed the death this (Saturday) afternoon of the Bishop and Apostolic Administrator Emeritus, who oversaw the Diocese for eleven years.
Born on January 2, 1944 in Piltown, County Kilkenny, he studied for the priesthood at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, from where he was ordained to the priesthood in 1968. His brother Michael is also a priest.
Following his ordination, he continued his studies in Rome where he was awarded a Licentiate in both sacred theology and sacred scripture. He returned to Rome in 1980 to become spiritual director at the Pontifical Irish College for the next five years.
He became a lecturer in sacred scripture at Saint Patrick’s College, Maynooth, where he continued to teach until his appointment as Auxiliary Bishop of Dublin in 1997 with responsibility for East Wicklow and South Dublin.
Following the retirement of Bishop James McLoughlin, Bishop Drennan was appointed Bishop of Galway and Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora and he was installed on July 3, 2005 in Galway Cathedral.
Outgoing Cllr Terry O’Flaherty (Ind) is on course to retain her City Council seat – and top the poll in City East.
With 33% of the boxes tallied, Cllr O’Flaherty is polling strongly, particularly in Renmore.
Michael John Crowe is ahead of his running mate Alan Cheevers for the Fianna Fáil vote, according to the early figures, although that could change when Doughiska and Roscam boxes are opened.
The Green Party’s Claire Hillery is on about 7%, with Fine Gael on 10% and Sinn Fein on 5%.
The opening of boxes for the local elections began at 9am this morning in Leisureland when the tallymen (and women) kicked into gear.
As regards the Galway County Council elections, the smaller areas are being opened first which means that the four-seater Connemara North boxes will be first in the pecking order.
It will be followed by Gort-Kinvara (5 seats), Connemara South (5 seats), Athenry-Oranmore (7 seats), Ballinasloe (6 seats), Loughrea (5 seats) and finally Tuam (7 seats).
The boxes in these areas will be opened and tallied in that particular order before being transferred to the Galway Lawn Tennis Club on Threadneedle Road where the counting will commence around mid-morning.
That is when the fun will really begin – although the tallies should give a good indication as to where most of the seats are destined.
As regards the city, the Galway City East boxes were opened first, followed by Galway City Central and finally Galway City West. These votes will be transferred to the Westside Centre by around 11am for counting.
There are 39 seats on Galway County Council to be filled with 18 on Galway City Council. The City Council count is expected to conclude on Saturday night but the County Council count – with seven electoral areas to be filled – could well go into Monday.
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