Pair avoid jail for assisting offender in 'far more serious criminal enterprise'

Two men have received fully suspended sentences at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for assisting another man's escape from gardaí. Derek Mitchell, aged 27, and Patrick Macken, aged 34, pleaded guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of an offender on Rosemount Avenue, Artane, Dublin, on March 13, 2015. During a garda operation, the men failed to stop a van in which a third man was attempting to evade arrest. Items recovered from the vehicle included an imitation firearm and cable ties. The third man was subsequently convicted and received a four-year prison sentence in 2017. Judge Melanie Greally noted that considerable time had elapsed since the incident and both defendants had distanced themselves from negative associations. She sentenced each man to twelve months imprisonment, fully suspended, placing the offence in the mid-range of seriousness due to its connection with a more serious underlying criminal enterprise.