Ciaran Mather, 20 Mar
A young man who demanded cash from two women because he was under
pressure to collect drug debts has been given a four-year suspended
sentence.
Adam Schuster (21) of Weston Way, Lucan, pleaded guilty at Dublin
Circuit Criminal Court to making an unwarranted demand for payment of
money with menace in Lucan on June 9, 2020.
He also admitted burglary in Lucan on September 8, 2020.
He has no previous convictions.
Garda David Sheedy told Brian Storan BL, prosecuting, that the first
woman contacted gardaí to say that she found Schuster in her front
garden one night, just after midnight, in June 2020.
She had previously had her home threatened because her son had run up a
drug debt.
Schuster told the woman that her son had lost drugs when gardaí
confiscated them earlier that month.
He said he had been sent to get €3,500 for those drugs.
The woman said she didn’t have the money and Schuster told her that
other people who had drugs confiscated by gardaí had been paying up.
Schuster told the woman he knew her son and his girlfriend and said he
would be dead himself if he didn’t collect the money from her.
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Gda Sheedy said the woman was concerned for herself and her home but
acknowledged that she had not been threatened directly by Schuster.
Gardaí arrived a short time and Schuster was arrested on the woman’s
property.
The woman was frightened this would happen again and she ended up
moving home.
The woman stated in her victim impact statement that the biggest
ramification was the fact that she had to move out of her home because
she was afraid and this caused the break-up of the family as her son is
now living with her sister.
Gda Sheedy agreed with Keith Spencer BL defending that his client was
told to go and “apply pressure” on the woman as he was deep in debt
himself.
His family have since helped discharge the debt Schuster was under at
that time.
He accepted that it was his understanding that Schuster had given the
drugs to the victim’s son but also accepted that “they could have been
someone else’s drugs”.
The court heard that the following September Schuster burgled a house
in Lucan while armed with a knife.
The homeowner said “a young fella with hood over his face” pushed in
the door and held a knife and demanded money.
He said he wouldn’t hurt the woman if she handed over money.
The victim felt she was going to die and told Schuster she had no
money.
The victim called for her daughter and Schuster then waved the knife
towards both the victim and her daughter, until her daughter emptied
her purse onto the hallway.
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He said it was not enough and he needed “at least 100 quid”.
He left and told the victim he was not well.
Schuster was arrested by gardaí shortly afterwards following a short
chase.
He admitted he had a knife with him and said he had thrown it into a
nearby field. He told gardaí he had a drug debt and was instructed to
go to the house and demand money.
Mr Spencer suggested that Schuster had gone to the wrong home. He said
his client had been getting threatening phone calls himself to pay off
his drugs debt.
Schuster’s mother told the court that her son was under pressure and
they had got many calls to their home about his drug debt. She said her
son had managed to grapple with his drug addiction and is working on
getting a job.
Judge Orla Crowe imposed consecutive terms of four years, having taken
into account that Schuster was on bail for the first offence when he
committed the second.
She suspended the four year term in full on strict conditions including
that Schuster engage with the Probation Service for two years.
Judge Crowe took into account the fact that Schuster had not come to
garda attention before these offences and has stayed out of trouble
since. She also noted his efforts to rehabilitate.
The judge said she was giving Schuster “the chance of a lifetime”
because of the efforts he had made but said the crimes had been “an
appalling start to his adult life”.
She noted that he had stared taking drugs at “an extraordinarily young
age” and a letter from him outlined his regret.
Judge Crowe said she had also taken the evidence of Schuster’s mother
into account and the fact that he is now considered to be at a
“moderate risk of re-offending” according to an updated probation
report.
Judge Crowe said the crimes were “a huge violation” of the homeowner’s
safety and that their “sense of safety and comfort in their own home
had been taken from them”.
She said they were extremely frightening offences, “happening late at
night” but accepted that Schuster was “under extreme pressure” at the
time.