Burglar threatened to press charges after being tackled by householder, court hears
A burglar threatened to press charges after a householder with two black belts in martial arts tackled him to the ground, a court has heard.
After his arrest, Joey McKeon claimed he was only standing outside the Dublin home of Emmanuel Reynaud when he was dragged in and attacked.
McKeon, of Rockford Park, Blackrock, Dublin pleaded guilty to trespass and attempted theft at Rockford Manor, Blackrock on January 18, 2018.
He has previous convictions for burglary, trespass and robbery.
In Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Melanie Greally imposed a three-year prison sentence. She noted that McKeon had struggled with drug addiction and was trying to address this.
She also noted concerns about his mental health, including delusional behaviour.
She said the invasion of a family home had a very traumatic effect on the children and a four-year-old child was particularly affected.
The court heard that on the night in question, Mr Reynaud's wife heard noises from McKeon downstairs. Mr Reynaud, who is trained in Judo and Jujitsu, went down to investigate and met the intruder.
He responded automatically and placed McKeon against a wall.
The burglar struggled to free himself and the homeowner tripped him and rolled over him, pinning the burglar down on the ground.
McKeon claimed that if he didn't let him go he would press charges and told the French national he “should be deported back to Poland”.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Reynaud said: “I am a peaceful dad and never intended to harm the burglar.”
He said his struggle to catch the intruder was driven by fear and a wish to protect his family and he never applied any dangerous holds.
He said McKeon insulted him non-stop for 15 minutes.
His wife told the court that after the break-in, she feared the man would come back to the house. She said her daughter, who was then four years old, woke up during the burglary and still asks her to check the doors.
