Man jailed for breaking into a house while the occupant was sleeping

Eimear Dodd

A man who broke into an apartment while the occupant was sleeping has been jailed for four years.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the woman was asleep in her bedroom on the afternoon of February 17th 2024, when she woke up after hearing noises in the living room.

When she opened the door, she saw Robert Hedderman (41) and began screaming, asking him what he was doing there.

Hedderman told the woman to calm down, saying he just wanted money, then asked her for jewellery.

She told him there was nothing of value in the apartment, and she didn’t have any cash.

He grabbed a knife from the kitchen during the incident and grabbed the woman’s work bag, which contained two laptops.

She also gave him her earrings. Her car keys were also taken.

Hedderman told her he was going to leave, but he would have to lock her in the bedroom. She attempted to grab her work bag, but he got it, then ran off in the direction of the Luas.

The court heard that Hedderman entered the apartment by forcing a window.

Hedderman, of no fixed abode, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to burglary and production of a knife on February 17th 2024.

Detective Garda Damien Reilly told Grainne O’Neill BL, prosecuting, that the woman identified Hedderman after viewing CCTV from a Luas.

He was later arrested, with nothing of evidential value obtained when he was interviewed.

A victim impact statement was handed to the court and not read aloud.

Hedderman has 65 previous convictions, including 17 for burglary, eight for possession of knives, and others for drug offences and criminal damage.

Det Gda Reilly agreed with Kathleen Leader SC, defending, that her client has a longstanding heroin addiction and has been in custody since last September.

Urine analysis, a letter of apology, a letter from Hedderman’s mother and a document from the prison psychological services were handed to the court.

Leader noted her client acknowledged that the victim would have been traumatised and feel unsafe in her home, for which he apologises.

She said her client is aware of the impact of his actions on others and on his family. Hedderman has a longstanding heroin addiction, but is doing well in custody, where he is taking methadone, but has tested positive for cannabis.

Leader submitted that her client only commits offences to fund his addiction. His mother is also very unwell.

Judge Orla Crowe noted there is no evidence before the court that the property was recovered.

She said this “clearly had a lasting impact” on the injured party, whose sense of safety in her home was “utterly violated”.

The judge said that Hedderman’s previous convictions are “indicative of a life blighted by heroin addiction”, that he is a “recidivist offender” whose offending feeds a habit.

Judge Crowe said this “explains things but does not excuse” them, noting that there were “countless victims” of his offending, including his own family.

She noted that Hedderman has engaged with psychological services while in custody and has been taking methadone.

The judge said this offending had to be marked by a custodial sentence, but the court would “give some light at the end of the tunnel to facilitate a structured re-entry into society and some support which might assist him to deal with his addiction”.

She imposed a sentence of four years and six months, with the final six months suspended on strict conditions. She directed Hedderman to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for 12 months and backdated the sentence to September 18th 2025.