Knife-wielding hijacker sent to jail for five years

Knife-wielding hijacker sent to jail for five years

12 April 2017

A MAN has been jailed for five years for a “terrifying and mean spirited” hijacking bid in Newcastle’s Donard Car Park.

Michael Thomas Cassidy (22), of Antrim Road, Belfast, tried to stab the driver of the vehicle when he refused to hand over the keys of his car in the early hours of June 13 last year.

Cassidy had pleaded guilty to charges of attempted hijacking, theft of a pair of sunglasses and attempted wounding.

At his sentencing at Downpatrick Crown Court, sitting in Belfast, prosecuting lawyer Laura Ivers, said Cassidy approached the victim when he was sitting in his car.

She said the conversation between Cassidy and the driver was initially pleasant when he asked him for a light.

But within a short space of time events turned nasty when Cassidy, who was intoxicated, tried to open the passenger door before reaching in through open driver’s side window to remove the keys from the ignition.

The defendant then produced a 12-inch knife, which he held to the throat of the driver and ordered him to hand over the keys or he would be stabbed, before lunging and trying to stab him in the stomach.

Fortunately, the knife did not make contact with the driver, Ms Ivers continued.

After stealing a pair of sunglasses and shouting “where’s the dough”, Cassidy went towards the boot of the car, giving the driver an opportunity to drive off.

Although the driver has since “moved on with his life”, Ms Ivers said the incident had had a “significant impact on him and he was terrified at the time”.

The court heard that Cassidy had been released from prison just one month before the hijacking attempt.

He had been jailed for robbing an off licence in Belfast in which he used a baseball bat and wore a pillowcase over his head.

Defence barrister Jon Paul Shields said Cassidy “takes full responsibility for his actions and expresses some degree of regret”.

“He accepts that there are a number of different factors he needs to try and address in his life, such as alcohol and drug addiction,” he said.

“There is a lot of work to be done but he has been clean of drugs for some months now since he has been in prison.

“The defendant fully accepts what he put this young man through in the early hours of the morning. It was a terrifying and mean spirited incident.”

Judge Gordon Kerr QC said that the incident “could have been a lot more serious and could have caused a fatal injury to the young person who was the victim of this attempted hijacking”.

He added that as well as arming himself with a 12-inch knife and putting it underneath the chin of his victim, Cassidy had committed the offence just one month after he was freed from jail on licence.

“Giving all of those matters, the appropriate sentence will be three years in custody,” Judge Kerr said.

“Because you were found to be a danger to the public, you will receive an extended custodial sentence of two years.”