A STOLEN car, that knocked down an 11-year-old child, was driven from the scene, but the passenger under orders to burn it out decided that he should give himself up to gardaí instead.
Judge Leo Malone said that Owen Murphy’s actions showed that he had some conscience and he would be given credit for that in the sentencing yesterday at Cork District Court.
On the particular charge of impeding the investigation of a crime, Murphy was given a seven-month jail sentence. The judge said that the offence carried a maximum sentence of a year and that he would give the accused a discount of five months.
The seven-month sentence imposed on Murphy, aged 28, of St. Vincent’s Hostel, Anglesea Terrace, related to a charge of impeding the prosecution of an offender and other offences.
Inspector Adrian Gamble said the background to the case was a serious incident on the road in Cork city where an 11-year-old girl was knocked down and left slumped in the middle of the road.
The silver BMW was driven away from the scene on August 6, 2014. Murphy was a backseat passenger in the BMW which was then driven to Kerry. Murphy was instructed to wipe it clear of fingerprints. He was also told to take the car to Limerick and burn it out.
Instead, Murphy drove the car back to Cork, parked it and threw the key into a drain. He subsequently presented himself to Detective Sergeant Vincent O’Sullivan and told him that he had been in the car at the time the child was knocked down. Judge Malone asked yesterday what had become of the injured girl. Insp. Gamble said he understood that she had gone on to make a full recovery.
Insp. Gamble said that Det. Sgt. O’Sullivan, who dealt with Murphy, was not present in court yesterday but asked for it to be indicated that Murphy had shown genuine remorse.
Murphy pleaded guilty to a charge of impeding the prosecution of an offender.
Judge Malone said of Murphy: “His actions at the very end of the event shows that he must have a conscience. He obviously thought about it and decided to disclose this to the police.”
Emmet Boyle, defence solicitor, said: “That would have been a manful thing to do.”
The judge said that as well as facing a possible 12-month sentence on the charge of impeding a prosecution he also faced a possible maximum of two years when all of the other offences, including several thefts were taken into consideration. Judge Malone said Murphy was getting a lenient sentence at seven months.
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