'Off his head' knife-wielding Tipperary teen jailed over attempt to rob fast food outlet

A teenager who wielded a kitchen knife while attempting to rob a fast food outlet in Roscrea has been jailed by Judge John Martin at Nenagh Circuit Criminal Court.

Tommy Murphy of 24 Ard na Gréine, Knock Road, Roscrea, pleaded to the offence at Burgoo Pizza and Kebab, Abbey Street, Roscrea, on November 20, 2021.

Mr Murphy, who is now 19 years old, was 17 at the time of the offence.

Det Garda Oliver Hennelly told the court that at around 11.54pm a lone male entered the premises with a kitchen knife and demanded money from the till.

The man was wearing a ski mask, sunglasses and a puffer jacket, he told the court.

However, the suspect left when the staff said they were going to call the gardaí.

Gardaí reviewed CCTV and located the suspect about 500 metres from the outlet.

They approached him and could see that he had a weapon up his sleeve, which he was asked to drop. The weapon was recovered by the gardaí and the man was arrested and brought to Nenagh Garda Station.

Garda Hennelly said that the man’s interview had to be deferred as he was under the influence of an intoxicant.

Garda Hennelly said that Mr Murphy subsequently made full admission and said that he had intended obtaining cash as he was under monetary pressure.

He said that Mr Murphy said that his girlfriend was pregnant and he needed to provide for the child.

He admitted that he had been under the influence of an intoxicant at the time and Garda Hennelly said he believed Mr Murphy had taken Xanex.

Garda Hennelly read out a victim personal statement from the staff member who was on duty that night in which they recalled Mr Murphy coming into the premises.

Mr Murphy started shouting and he could see he had a knife. The staff member said that he didn’t fully understand Mr Murphy, only that he was shouting and waving a knife and saying “€500”.

The man ran back into the storeroom and called for help. He then picked up his phone and called the gardaí.

The court heard that there was a screen on the counter due to Covid and that this separated the accused from the injured party.

The court heard Mr Murphy had 29 previous convictions, with some 24 of them coming before he was 18 years old. The vast majority of the offences had been dealt with on the one court date.

Garda Hennelly agreed with Suzanne Gorey, BL, for Mr Murphy, that her client had not used the knife and had made no attempt to pull down the Covid screen.

Garda Hennelly accepted that when Mr Murphy was approached by the gadaí he said: “I’m sorry”, and that he had been “off his head” on Xanex.

The garda also accepted that Mr Murphy had a drug debt of between €12,000 and €15,000 and that he needed money because his girlfriend had a child on the way.

Garda Hennelly further agreed that after seeing the CCTV coverage Mr Murphy said: “Poor chap, he’s only doing his job. I didn’t intend to hurt him. All I wanted was the till.”

Garda Hennelly said that he knew Mr Murphy’s family for the past 20 years and that Mr Murphy’s father had passed away when the defendant was 12 or 13 years old.

He was aware Mr Murphy had received a maths scholarship to Clongowes Wood School at the age of 12 but that had been interrupted when his father died.

Mr Murphy read out a letter of apology to the court in which he said that he had gone down a “bad road” when he was 13-years-old and began using drugs.

He said that he hadn’t known how to cope with becoming a parent at 17 years of age and had made a mistake he was ashamed of.

He was now keeping his head down and because he was in custody had missed his son’s first birthday.

“I want to be a better parent. I want to be a role model. I am not the person on the charge sheet,” he said.

Mr Murphy wished to apologise for the “mental harm I caused that man. He was only doing his job. It was not my intention to harm that man.”

Mr Murphy said that he began using weed and tablets to cope with his father’s death.

At the time of the offence he owed a lot of money for drugs and had just found out that he was to become a father and he had no money.

“My son has filled me with joy since he came into my life,” said Mr Murphy.

Judge Martin accepted that the birth of a child had prompted Mr Murphy to change his life.

He also accepted that Mr Murphy’s father’s death had derailed his schooling.

Judge Martin also accepted that Mr Murphy had a large drugs debt and that he had been “off your head” on up to 25 Xanex tablets on the night in question.

He also accepted Mr Murphy had been a minor at the time of the offence.

“I accept you didn’t use the knife, but you wielded it around,” he said.

However, the judge pointed out that the offence had been committed while Mr Murphy had been on bail.

“You had no respect for the law at that time,” he said.

Judge Martin jailed Mr Murphy for four years but suspended the last two years on condition Mr Murphy enter a peace bond of €100.

He backdated the sentence to when Mr Murphy was taken into custody.