A YOUNG MAN stole a Bus Éireann vehicle in Co Donegal and drove it to Dublin after being told another bus was full.

Derek Dunne appeared before Letterkenny Circuit Court where he entered a plea of guilty.

Dunne, of Markievicz House, Dublin, was charged with unlawfully taking possession of and use of a mechanically propelled vehicle without the consent of the owner, Bus Éireann Transport Company, or without lawful authority, at Bus Éireann Bus Station, Ramelton Road, Letterkenny on 10 July, 2023. 

The 24-year-old appeared before Judge John Aylmer for sentencing after the extraordinary incident during which he drove the €390,000 bus from Letterkenny, along the M1 motorway and abandoning it in Sheriff Street in Dublin.

The court was told that the bus was not damaged and still had the key in the ignition.

Garda Pearse Glynn, led by state barrister Fiona Crawford, outlined the incident to the court.

He told how gardaí received a call from Bus Éireann on the morning of 10 July, 2023 to say one of their buses was missing from the Letterkenny depot and later learned that a bus had been found abandoned in Sheriff Street.

Dunne was identified from enquiries and he was arrested and interviewed on 12 September and made full admissions.

CCTV was harvested which showed a male in a green hoodie arriving in Letterkenny at 10.35pm and was seen waiting until 11.06pm until the bus driver had left.

At 11.52pm, Dunne was observed entering a number of buses which were parked up before eventually entering the bus he would steal.

He sat in the driver’s seat for about 45 minutes before eventually turning on the lights and driving off in the bus at 12.40am.

When interviewed at Pearse Street Garda Station, Dunne told gardaí that he was planning to get a later bus back but was told the bus was full and decided to take a bus himself.

After the 237-kilometre journey, Dunne left the key in the bus and left.

Barrister for the accused, Daniel Comerford, instructed by solicitor Danica Kinane, said his client had taken an extremely foolish decision and acted on impulse.

He said that by doing this Dunne had created a substantial risk of harm to other people but that he now has a full understanding of this.

Although he has no previous convictions, he is currently on remand in prison facing other charges which he has pleaded to.

Comerford said Dunne had grown up in a family with drug problems and that he lived with his grandparents.

He has worked in the haulage industry and with heavy goods because of the influence of an uncle who also worked in that industry.

The court was told that Dunne does not have a heavy goods vehicle licence, when asked by the judge.

Comerford said his client regretted taking the incident the instant he had.

He added that the accused did not comprehend the situation and drove the distance he did but that this was a situation which was rooted in panic rather than one which showed a flagrant disregard for others.

Judge Aylmer said this was “a very unusual offence.”

He outlined the journey taken by Dunne in the stolen bus which he said many in the court present knew was “a very hazardous route.”

He described Dunne’s incident as “unusual and rather weird behaviour” saying he was told he had a long fascination with heavy goods vehicles.

However, the Judge said he was not exactly sure what was behind the behaviour as he did not have the benefit of a probation report.

He said it was obvious from the evidence that there was no intention to deprive Bus Éireann and that he simply wanted to get back to Dublin.

Before mitigation he said the offence merited a sentence of two years in prison.

But he said the accused came before him with only a previous conviction for speeding, that he was completely cooperative with gardaí and he entered an early plea.

Those features merited a reduction of sentence to one of 18 months, he said.

He added that he was going to deal with the accused as a young man with an unusual fascination with heavy goods vehicles who behaved in an extraordinary manner.

Notwithstanding the fact that he didn’t have a probation report before him, Judge Aylmer said he was going to suspend the sentence of 18 months in its entirety on the understanding that Dunne go under the supervision of the probation services for 18 months when released from prison.