Gun victim's dad laments 'lenient' jail term
THE father of a man who was shot as he leaned out of his bedroom window spoke of his frustration after the man who stole the getaway car was handed a 20-month sentence.
Shooting victim Robert Delany was shot twice in Russell Rise, Tallaght, on October 22, 2008.
Mr Delany had been asleep with his partner when there was a knock on his front door. He looked out the bedroom window to investigate and was shot in the head.
He is still in a vegetative condition in hospital -- a state his father Terry said was "worse than death". A car Robert Gaynor (23) stole, a white Honda Integra, was discovered on the morning of the shooting abandoned in the driveway of a house in Montpelier View, Tallaght. The driver's window was smashed and the ignition was damaged.
Gaynor, of Berryfield Drive, Finglas, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawfully taking possession of a vehicle from Francis McCann Car Sales, Naas Road, Dublin on October 21, 2008.
He has 23 previous convictions for road traffic and public order offences.
Judge Martin Nolan yesterday jailed Gaynor for 20 months -- this was the first conviction brought in relation to the case.
"I am happy to accept that he did not know it was going to be used in a shooting but knew it was going to be used in illegal activity," the judge said.
Gaynor was first arrested in March 2010 in relation to the shooting in Russell Rise but was released without charge.
He was re-arrested on October 19, 2010, when he was linked to the car through forensic analysis of items, including a shotgun cartridge and the broken ignition that had been left behind in the vehicle. He admitted taking the car and said he had been told to do so.
Speaking outside of the Criminal Courts of Justice, Terry Delany expressed his frustration over the leniency of the 20-month sentence Gaynor received.
"In the circumstances, I think the sentence was remarkably lenient," he said.
- Sonya McLean and Edel O'Connell
Irish Independent
