A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years in jail after pleading guilty to 11 charges arising out of an incident described as being like "a rampage from the Wild West".
Stephen Dowling of Burrin Road, Carlow, admitted firing his legally held high-powered rifle at civilians, gardaí and property in Glenties, Co Donegal, after a night out drinking pints, shorts and taking cocaine in February 2020.
He pleaded guilty to five charges of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life or cause serious damage to property; one charge of possession of an offensive weapon - a hunting knife; and five charges of criminal damage.
At Letterkenny Circuit Court today, Judge John Aylmer said that one of the most aggravating factors in the case was that he had brought cocaine with him to Glenties and was in possession of a very high-powered weapon.
The judge said it was extremely fortuitous that no one was shot dead, as Dowling had taken aim at them.
Following sentencing, Chief Superintendent Terry McGinn said it is both incredible and fortunate that no lives were lost or serious injury sustained that night.
She commended the bravery and actions of the gardaí "who brought the dangerous situation under control" and thanked the community of Glenties for their help and cooperation during the garda investigation.
An extreme risk to life and limb - judge
Judge Aylmer said that Dowling had completely lost control of himself and his mind and went on a spree of random shooting. He said there was extreme risk to life and limb on the night.
He added that Dowling's actions were a gross breach of the trust of the State allowing him to be licensed to carry a weapon - a weapon the judge described as extremely dangerous.
Judge Aylmer said the court had heard numerous and very lengthy victim impact statements, including some from the courageous and very brave gardaí, who were operating in particularly difficult circumstances arising from the remoteness of the location, among other factors.
In terms of sentencing, Judge Aylmer said that for obvious reasons, there must be a very clear and significant element of deterrent, in particular the danger posed to the community.
He placed the firearms offences at the higher end of the scale of offending, which he said merited a headline sentence of 14 years along with four years for the offensive weapon and criminal damage charges.
The judge said there were a number of mitigating circumstances to be taken into account, including the fact that Dowling had no previous convictions, was a hard working young man who fully cooperated with gardaí once he sobered up, entered the earliest plea of guilty and since the incident had rescued a boy from a savage dog attack.
Judge Aylmer said he was therefore setting the sentence at eight years for each of the five possession of a firearm charges and two-and-a-half years for each of the other charges. All sentences are to run concurrently.
The Vice President of the Garda Representative Association and Donegal Division Representative said the terrifying evidence given in court has given the public an insight into the daily dangers that gardaí face on an ongoing basis.
Brendan O'Connor said the GRA in Donegal and other divisions have consistently expressed concerns about the availability of armed back-up and this incident has demonstrated how legitimate and well-founded those concerns are.
He said: "These members who faced the very real prospect of not coming home from work to their families that night have asked that the GRA seek a comprehensive review to explore what steps can be introduced in order to improve how such incidents are responded to in order to improve the safety of members, better protect communities and provide better post incident support to our members."
