Burglar who targeted elderly man jailed for four years

Claire Henry

A judge has warned a young man that if he “emerges from prison and keeps offending, the sentences will keep increasing” after he jailed him for four years for breaking into the home of an 80-year-old man.

Dylan Mills (23) was before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary, two counts of the unauthorised taking of a vehicle and one count of criminal damage at various locations around Dublin between October 1st, 2024, and January 10th, 2025.

Passing sentence on Thursday, Judge Martin Nolan said he has to deal with three bills, with the first being the “most serious”. He said this defendant entered a house that was occupied by an 80-year-old man and that this man has suffered great trauma as a result.

Judge Nolan said it seems Mills has had a very sad and tough life. He noted that his parents had difficulties with a drug which this man inherited.

The judge said the mitigating factors in this case were the early guilty pleas, his remorse, and he is doing well in custody. In weighing up whether or not Mills will reoffend again, Judge Nolan said: “the jury is out”, noting his past behaviours “wouldn’t give you too much hope."

Judge Nolan set a global sentence of five years and suspended the final year of the sentence for one year. He also placed Mills under the supervision of the Probation Service for one year post-release.

Judge Nolan warned Mills that if he “emerges from prison and keeps offending, the sentences will keep increasing.”

Detective Garda Finbar Fleming told Patrick Jackson, prosecuting, that on the night of October 1st, 2024, an 80-year-old man went to bed at 11.30pm. He was accompanied upstairs by his two dogs.

A short time later, one of his dogs went “berserk” and ran downstairs. The man followed the dog downstairs and saw that his front door was ajar and that his car was gone.

The man noticed damage to his door and lock, and that a carving knife was missing from the kitchen. The gardaí were contacted, CCTV footage was viewed, and Mills was identified.

He was arrested, detained and interviewed. A victim impact statement from the injured party was handed into the court but not read out.

Mills of Shangan Avenue, Ballymun, Dublin, has 16 previous convictions, which include convictions for criminal damage, possession of stolen property, two hit and run charges, assault on a police officer, assault, unlawful escape from custody and misuse of drugs.

Garda Laura Barrett told the court of a separate incident on January 10th, 2025, when a man started his wife's car to warm it up as there was frost outside. The man heard a “revving” noise from outside and saw that his car had been taken.

A short time later, Mills was seen in the car, arrested, and interviewed.

Gda Barrett agreed with Aoife McNickle, defending, that the car was recovered undamaged, and that Mills had entered an early guilty plea and had addiction issues.

Garda Alex Durren of the Roads Policing Unit told the court of a third and final incident which occurred on December 30th, 2024.

On the night in question, a couple were out for dinner when they received a call from the gardaí informing them that their car had been taken and crashed.

The couple returned home to find their house broken into and their car stolen. Footage from the couple's doorbell camera was viewed, and Mills was seen leaving the house with the keys to their white Mercedes. Damage was caused to their doors and locks, and Mills eventually gained entry via a window.

The white Mercedes was involved in a road traffic matter on the M1 where it was seen being driven at speed, mounting a curb, colliding with a barrier and hitting another car.

Two motorists made statements that they had seen the Mercedes crash and a number of people fleeing from the car, with Mills, the driver of the car, jumping a barrier.

Gda Durran agreed with defence counsel that there was no one home at the time of this offence and that her client entered an early guilty plea and was in foster care from the age of 12 until he turned 18. He also agreed that Mills had a significant drug addiction.

The court heard that Mills is currently serving a three-year prison sentence for the unlawful taking of a vehicle with a release date of August 2027.

Fionnuala O’Sullivan, defending, said regarding the first incident that her client did enter the house, but there was no interaction with the homeowner.

She said Mills was “horrified” that there was someone present in the house at the time, and he offered his sincere apologies. She noted that he is ashamed of what he did and takes full responsibility.

Counsel said Mills' parents were long-time drug users, and his father died of an overdose when he was aged five. She said Mills entered full-time care at age 12 and remained there until age 18.

O’Sullivan said that her client had been in custody for a period of time, and when he was released, he began to use drugs again, and all of these offences occurred.

She said he is now back in custody, and he has finally realised that if he does not deal with his difficulties, he will never get out of this cycle.

She said that while in custody, Mills has been engaging with the relevant authorities and that this is a very significant change.