A MAN with 326 previous convictions, mostly for motoring offences, has been jailed for eight months after leading gardaí on a dangerous chase.
Jimmy Connors, 60, from The Avenue, Belgard Heights, Tallaght, was also fined €1,200 after he pleaded guilty to drunk, dangerous and uninsured driving.
Judge David McHugh said it appeared Connors had had a meltdown at the time, with the father-of-15 having "fallen off the wagon" after the death of his son.
According to the Irish Independent, the incident happened at the car park at Aldi, Newland’s Cross on June 14 last year, while Connors was living in his vehicle.
Garda Sergeant Maria Callaghan told Blanchardstown District Court that at 1.05am, gardaí responded to a report of a man in a highly intoxicated state.
When they arrived they saw Connors turning the keys in the ignition, with an open bottle of beer in the car beside him.
On speaking to him, he started the car and drove off at speed. Gardaí followed him and he turned onto the Fonthill Road dangerously, causing other cars to take action to avoid him.
He also broke a red light. When the car stopped, he attempted to run from it as gardaí approached. He was arrested and taken to Ballyfermot Garda Station, where a urine sample he provided was 235mg – more than three times the limit.
Connors was already serving a two-year sentence for burglary when he entered his pleas today.
Taking into account Connors’ difficult life and bereavement, Judge McHugh made the four-month prison term consecutive to the sentence Connors is already serving.
