'Crack crazy' shooter in 'meticulously planned' killing gets seven years

Joseph Richards, aged 35 and from Lanesborough Square in Finglas, has been sentenced to seven years imprisonment at the Central Criminal Court following his guilty plea to conspiracy to murder. The offence relates to the death of Robert Sheridan, a 45-year-old father of two, who was fatally shot at his home in Ballymun on 5 October 2018. Mr Justice Paul McDermott imposed the sentence on 24 February 2026, finding that the killing was meticulously planned and involved considerable coordination to draw the victim to his patio door. The court heard that Mr Sheridan had received a Garda Information Message warning of a threat to his life and had armed himself with a knife before answering the door. A post-mortem examination established two fatal gunshot wounds to his face. Richards, who faced a murder charge initially, entered a guilty plea to the lesser count of conspiracy to murder. The court heard that Richards was driven by drug addiction and financial motivation. The judge acknowledged Richards's guilty plea and his efforts to address substance abuse while in custody, noting the significant weight of his 99 previous convictions. The effective sentence will exceed twelve years, comprising seven and a half years imprisonment with six months suspended, to be served following the completion of his current six-year-five-month prison term. In a separate witness account, Richards allegedly admitted responsibility for the shooting. The victim's family provided impact statements to the court, detailing the enduring trauma caused by Mr Sheridan's death. The case, which saw Richards charged in 2024 for an offence committed six years earlier, reflects the investigative persistence of An Garda Síochána in pursuing organised crime-related homicides in the Dublin region.