A Drogheda criminal with 40 previous convictions has appealed the severity of his sentence for burning out a stolen car, in what a judge has described as "mysterious" circumstances.
Paul Crosby (25) of Rathmullen Park, Drogheda, Co Louth was under surveillance by the Emergency Response Unit who watched as he and two others jump-started the stolen Volkswagen Polo, drove it to a field and set it on fire.
He pleaded guilty to arson and a judge at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court sentenced him to five years imprisonment with the final six months suspended.
At a sentence hearing in April 2020 Detective Garda Seamus Nolan told Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court that Crosby was being watched by the Emergency Response Unit when, on May 10, 2019, he was seen with two other men trying to jump-start the stolen car at an industrial estate in Drogheda.