Two raiders jailed following ‘terrifying’ Longford bookmakers robbery

Two raiders who robbed a Longford bookmakers armed with a can of pepper spray and left staff terrified have been jailed for three and a half years and over two years respectively.

Peter Murphy (42) of 10 St Michael’s Court, Longford and Desmond McKeever (46) of 9 St Michael’s Court, Longford both pleaded guilty at Longford Circuit Court to the robbery at Boylesports in Longford town on March 3, 2024.

Murphy and McKeever also admitted one separate offence each and they were also sentenced on those matters.

Murphy pleaded guilty to the attempted robbery of Muhammad Muntaz at The Kiosk, 57 Dublin Street on February 21, 2024.

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Meanwhile, McKeever pleaded guilty to carrying out a burglary and stealing a box of Xanax tablets from Lloyds Pharmacy, Ballinalee Road, Longford on May 2, 2024.

The court heard Murphy owed €2,500 to moneylenders and Mr McKeever also owed drug debt money and he was being put under pressure when they robbed Boylesports.

State barrister Shane Geraghty BL, said two staff members had been behind the counter when the defendants Mr Murphy at the front, armed with the pepper spray, entered the premises at 6.44pm.

“One of the staff members knew the way they were dressed they were up to no good,” he said. “That person reached for the panic button but the masked man at the front (Murphy) pulled out the pepper spray.”

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Mr Geraghty outlined that the staff members then ran into two separate smaller offices, as they had been trained to do, where they knew there were further panic buttons.

“One of them described when they got inside, they felt they couldn’t breath due to the pepper spray. The pepper spray filled the air very quickly,” he added.

CCTV footage was played in the court, and it showed the two defendants reaching over the counter after the staff members had fled and grabbing €237 from one of the two tills.

The court heard the pair had not realised there was a second till, which contained over €500 and that money was left untouched when they fled the scene.

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Detective Garda Orla Geraghty, who took the stand, stated after 7pm on the night in question she and her colleague Garda Carty responded to the panic alarm.

Ms Geraghty said they took statements and they got a description and there was then a ‘large and extensive canvas for CCTV footage’ following the incident.

She stated that as a result of that canvas Gardaí obtained CCTV from Weavers Hall and the footage showed two males believed to be responsible for the robbery exit the building at 6.33pm and return at 6.50pm.

“In Weavers Hall there are numerous cameras in that premises, and they captured the two men as they re-entered the property and take the stairs to the rooftop and it was there that they were captured on camera changing and their clothing revealed another layer of clothing underneath,” Ms Geraghty said. “Both of the suspects can then be seen without any face coverings.”

The court heard Gardaí subsequently identified Mr Murphy and Mr McKeever from various pieces of footage.

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Mr Murphy told officers he had known Mr McKeever for 16 years and he lived next door to him.

A search of McKeever’s home was carried out and items of clothing that matched clothing used in the robbery were seized.

Det Garda Geraghty said three officers identified McKeever from the CCTV footage from Boylesports and the surrounding area and he was subsequently arrested.

The court heard Boylesports staff did not wish to make any victim impact statements.

Det Garda Geraghty said one of the staff membes was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder and has not worked since, while the other staff member left his job with the bookmaker as a result of the incident and he has 'struggled'.

The money that was taken was not recovered.

Judge Kenneth Connolly also heard details about Murphy's attempted robbery at The Kiosk.

The defendant entered The Kiosk armed with pepper spray and threatened Muhammad Muntaz leaving him 'extremely frightened'.

The court heard Mr Muntaz calmly tried to talk the defendant down and remained 'very cool' under pressure when the defendant approached his counter.

Murphy panicked and fled the store with nothing after about 30 seconds.

Details were also heard about another incident involving McKeever when he entered the dispensary area of Lloyd's pharmacy and took a packet of 70 Xanax tablets and stated, "I need this, I have to do this".

The defendant swallowed several pills in the pharmacy, he advised them to phone the Gardaí and "Tell them it's Dessie" and left the premises and said he would be in the church grounds.

McKeever had nine previous convictions, while Murphy had 39 previous convictions.

Counsel for McKeever, Kieran Collins BL, said the defendant had a traumatic childhood and his mother passed away when he was just 15-months.

Mr Collins said individuals had effectively forced his way into McKeever's home and they were stealing his prescription medication and Gardaí in court agreed they believed he was genuinely in fear and he had reason to fear the unnamed individual.

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Counsel for Murphy, Niall Flynn BL said his client's late mother had 'certain addiction issues' and he had difficult formative years, however his late uncle in Ballymahon had a positive influence.

Murphy has been drug free for seven months and he previously worked steadily in scaffolding, tyre fitting and groundworks.

Mr Flynn said his client developed a heroin addiction and came under 'the gaze of moneylenders' and his partner and mother were threatened.

Judge Connolly said the Boylesports robbery was a 'terrifying' incident which had a profound impact.

He sentenced Murphy to four years and 10 months in prison in total for both of his offences with the final 16 months suspended on a number of strict conditions.

Meanwhile, McKeever was sentenced to a total of three years and four months with the final year suspended for both of his offences with Judge Connolly describing the Lloyd's incident as a 'cry for help'.

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