The judge described it as “abnormal” that the state was paying disability benefits to a member of the Limerick robbery gang because he was lactose intolerant.
After hearing in Ennis Circuit Court that Edward Woodland was receiving disability benefits for being lactose intolerant, Judge Eoin Garavan said:
Lactose intolerance is a common digestive problem in which the body cannot digest lactose, a type of sugar found primarily in milk and dairy products.
Judge Garavan said, “I don’t want to say too much about this, but it seems like a special reason for receiving social protection disability payments.”
He made his comments on Jan. 5, 2018, when he sentenced Woodland, 23, and three accomplices for the robbery of an isolated farmhouse in Ballybeskill, Colorado. .
Three of the thieves, father and son, Patrick, 48, Edward Woodland, and Paul Keeley, 35, found the only resident, James (Jimmy) O’Connor, 97, asleep in bed. After that, I ran away from the farm.
At around 3:30 p.m., intruders kicked the door of the house, broke the lock, and ransacked the property for cash. They then discover Mr. O’Connor’s existence.
All three were caught “red flag” by Gardai when they tried to flee the fields around Mr. O’Connor’s house.
Nothing was stolen in the robbery, and Judge Garavan said no threats of violence or violence were used.
As part of the planned robbery, one of the gang members, Patrick’s brother and Edward’s uncle, John Woodland, 43, pulled Mr. O’Connor’s son, Vincent, away from home and took him to a nearby field for shopping. Disguised. Silage as part of a “smart decoy”.
John Woodland first contacted Vincent O’Connor regarding the purchase of silage in early December 2017.
In an impressive ruling, Judge Garavan said robbery crimes carried out by gangs were of “serious public concern” and needed deterrence.
He said such crimes “frighten people in rural areas who have little protection against this and don’t have a Gardai on their doorstep.”
He said the “absolute terror and trauma to the victims that can be caused” by such crimes in rural areas cannot be overstated.
Judge Galavan said Gardai was at the scene because the crime was premeditated and carefully thought out, and because he knew the robbery would take place as a result of receiving the information.
He said the three assailants demonstrated “humanity in the midst of serious crime”.
Judge Gallavan said it was very traumatic for Vincent O’Connor to return home in the afternoon and not know if his father had been disturbed or tied up.
James O’Connor died peacefully at his home in March 2018. His death was unrelated to his January robbery, in which his sleep was undisturbed.
In his ruling, Judge Garavan sentenced Patrick Woodland of Greenmount Avenue, Ballinacula Weston, Limerick to five years in prison. Clarina Avenue in Limerick, John Woodland in Ballinacura Avenue, last his two-year suspension; received.
Det Garda Brendan Rouine told the court that Patrick Woodland and John Woodland were each jailed for three years in 2012 for similar robberies committed in Galway in 2011.
He said Vincent O’Connor has beefed up his home’s security features.
