Man who drove hijacked jeep toward two planes at Cork Airport to ...
A “manic explosion” more than 13 years ago saw a man hijack a jeep and drive at two planes full of passengers at Cork Airport and now the culprit has just been ordered to serve another three years in jail.
A sentence of 12 years was originally imposed on Edmond Stapleton, with the last five years suspended. For those five years to remain suspended he had to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
However, Edmond Stapleton, 51, a native of Dublin Hill in Cork but now with an address at Garranlease, Kilfinane, Co Limerick, more recently kicked one garda and bit a second officer. These actions triggered the re-activation of three years of his sentence.
Judge Dermot Sheehan took account of the new offence and activated three years of the five years that had been suspended at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
The accused had been sentenced in 2012 to twelve years in jail with five years suspended when he was convicted of 12 offences, including threatening to kill Garda Michael Bohane and careering around Cork Airport in a stolen airport police vehicle.
In the new incident, Det Sgt Chris Cahill described how Armed Support Unit members from Cork went to Stapleton’s home in Kilfinane on June 16, 2023, to carry out a search of the house as part of an investigation into a shooting in the Wilton area of Cork city on May 12, 2023.
Gardaí knocked on the door of Stapleton’s house and identified themselves but got no reply, so they made their way into the property where they found Stapleton upstairs, intent on causing himself self-harm by trying to jump out a window.
Gardaí went to restrain him, but he kicked out and one officer was knocked back, suffering an injury to his elbow, while Stapleton bit another officer on the arm as he and his colleagues were trying to bring Stapleton downstairs in the house.
The incident led to Stapleton being charged with two counts of assault causing harm and earlier this month, at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court, he was sentenced to three years in jail for the biting incident and 12 months in jail concurrent for the other assault.
2011 incident
In the older incident, Det Sgt Cahill told how on the afternoon of May 22, 2011, Stapleton jumped into a Garda SUV on Patrick Street in Cork city centre and put a knife to the throat of Garda Michael Bohane and threatened to kill him before ordering him from the vehicle.
He then drove at speed on to the South Link Road and to Cork Airport where he crashed through fencing and hijacked a Cork Airport Fire Service jeep and began careering around and rammed an unmarked garda car. He then and drove at two airplanes.
Defence barrister, Elaine Audley BL said her client had expressed remorse for his actions and Det Sgt Cahill agreed with her that Stapleton was living in extremely poor conditions at his house in Kilfinane and that he had poor mental health.
The reactivated three years was made consecutive to the three-year term for the assaults of the gardaí imposed in Limerick this month leaving Stapleton now serving a total of six years in jail.
