Terrified mum feared heroin addict shot her son during burglary

A terrified mother pushed the barrel of a gun away from her chest and ran to see if her son had been shot during an aggravated burglary at their home on a summer’s evening last year.

The 60-year-old woman was resting in her upstairs bedroom, while her 21-year-old son, who has a mild learning difficulty, was listening to music in his bedroom when an armed and masked man burst into their home at 8.50pm on August 13 last year.

Daniel Barrett (25), of 147 Castlepark, Ballybane, pleaded guilty before Galway Circuit Criminal Court last July to aggravated burglary at his neighbour’s house while armed with an imitation shotgun, contrary to Section 13 (1) and (3) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, and the matter was adjourned to last week for sentence.

Garda Pauline de Paor gave evidence Barrett went to the young man’s bedroom and held the gun to his head as he lay on his bed listening to music. He stole a number of items from his bedroom.

The woman heard noise coming from her son’s bedroom and when she opened her own bedroom door, she was confronted by a masked man in the hallway carrying what looked like a double-barrel shotgun.

He stuck the gun into her shoulder and chest area. She looked past him and saw her son, face downwards on his bed. She feared he had been shot and she pushed the gun away from her chest and ran to help her son.

Barrett ran downstairs. The woman took her son into her bedroom and they barricaded themselves inside. She screamed for help out the window.

Meanwhile, an eye witness saw a man leave a laundry basket into a neighbour’s back garden before scaling the wall into the garden of No 147 Castlepark, where Barrett lived with his grandparents.

Barrett had taken €350 cash, prescription medication, a mobile phone, two Samsung tablets, a camera, two PlayStation consoles, a kitchen knife and a cushion cover, during the burglary which he had placed in the laundry basket in order to carry them away.  The cushion cover was used to carry some of the items.

The cash and two Samsung tablets were never recovered.

The woman and her son did not recognise Barrett as he had his face covered. Gardai arrested him two hours later.

The court heard Barrett had injected heroin before committing the aggravated burglary. He was still “high” when arrested and Gardai had to wait until the next morning to interview him.

Garda dePaor said the gun, while imitation, looked very realistic and it was shown to the court.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said their lives had been turned into a living nightmare that evening and they no longer felt safe in their home. It had since been turned into a fortress and a prison with alarms and security cameras.

She said she had no option but put her home up for sale, even though it held a lifetime of happy memories.

She and her late husband had raised six children there and she had so many happy memories of their lives together before his death ten years ago.

Her son expressed his fear in his statement at being attacked by Barrett’s friends in the estate and he said he no longer felt safe in his home or in his bedroom.

Barrett apologised to the woman and her son in court.

“I’m very sorry for what happened and I apologise,” he said.

Defence barrister, John Kiely SC, said his client was a heroin addict and he was under the influence of the drug when he committed this offence. He said Barrett believed the house was empty at the time.

He broke in with the intention of getting cash to feed his habit.

Judge Rory McCabe said he had heard very disturbing evidence and the victim impact statements were “very stark”.

He said he needed time to consider the evidence and he remanded Barrett in continuing custody to November 23 for sentence.