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A former movie actor has been jailed for three years for robbing a store while armed with a knife.
Jason Murtagh (41) appeared in The engagements, the snapper, the boxer Y In the name of the Father, Hearing of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today.
He is now a homeless crack addict with 126 prior convictions. He asked Judge Pauline Codd to take him into custody to help him rehab from drugs.
Murtagh, based in Mariners Port, Sheriff Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty to robbing a Costcutters store on North Strand Road on March 13, 2017.
Garda Kevin Meade told the court that Murtagh and another man entered the store around 6 a.m. on the day in question, both armed with knives. They ordered a shop assistant to open the boxes and took € 200 in cash.
Both men fled the store when they were confronted by the store manager, who saw them on the CCTV system in the store’s office. The manager followed them on foot and saw them enter a nearby apartment complex.
Pieter Le Vert BL, in defense, said that his client had appeared in several films and that he had been in some of them. However, along with this, he struggled with drug addiction since the age of 15, Le Vert said.
He has two children and a grandson, but has been homeless for several years, despite family support. His sister was at court to support him.
Mr. Le Vert requested that Murtagh be taken into custody. “If you don’t go into custody and start serving a sentence now, you’re in a precarious position.”
Judge Codd handed down a sentence of four and a half years and suspended the last 18 months to facilitate Murtagh’s rehabilitation.
She praised both the store manager and the store assistant for their strength when they confronted Murtagh and his accomplice, noting that the assistant feared her “life was over.”
She noted that Murtagh has tried to rehab in the past and wants to make positive changes in his life.
Murtagh told the judge, “God bless you” after the sentence was passed.
Online editors
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