Three men given suspended sentences over ‘misguided’ spray painting of Irish Rail trains

Three men who spray painted the exteriors of four Dart carriages as part of a “misguided artistic endeavour” have received suspended prison sentences.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard their actions resulted in more than €18,700 in damage and lost revenue for Irish Rail.

Spanish nationals Jonay Saiz Gallo (25), Luis Garcia Diaz (30) and Francisco Jose Jiminez Espinosa (27) each pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage at Fairview Dart Depot in Dublin on October 10th last.

Gallo, of Mountshannon Road, Dublin 8; Espinosa, of Susan Terrace, Dublin 8; and Diaz, who the court heard resides in Madrid, each have no previous convictions.

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Garda Richard Ledwidge gave evidence that Irish Rail staff spotted four men spray painting Dart carriages on CCTV at 2.59pm on the day in question. One of the four, later identified as Gallo, was using his phone to record the others. The men started to walk towards East Wall and were followed by an Irish Rail employee.

Garda Ledwidge agreed with Karl Moran BL, prosecuting, that the men began to run and dumped their bags in a ditch. They were later spotted by gardaí and told to stop but ignored the direction and ran off. The three accused were apprehended and the fourth man escaped. Their clothes and bags were seized as evidence, along with a camera belonging to Diaz and phones belonging to Gallo and Espinosa.

Diaz told gardaí that he had travelled to Ireland for a short period and had not intended to cause trouble. He apologised and identified his graffiti tag, ‘Skab’. Espinosa and Gallo made no admissions.

A total of €12,193 in damage was caused to the four Dart carriages and Irish Rail suffered a loss of revenue of €6,494.

Defence counsel said the men had pleaded guilty at an early date and were apologetic. They were willing to forfeit bail money to compensate Irish Rail, counsel said. The court heard the men have a keen interest in art.

Defence counsel said Gallo and Espinosa moved to Ireland to learn English. Both had lost work due to coverage of the case, but have since found new employment.

Oisin Clarke, BL defending, said Gallo had brought €500 in court as a sign of remorse. He said this offence would be considered a misdemeanour in Spain.

Judge Pauline Codd said no real explanation had been provided for Gallo’s actions which appeared to have been a “misguided and misplaced artistic endeavour”. She said his use of his phone was an aggravating factor. The judge imposed a sentence of 2½ years suspended for the same period on the condition that Gallo keeps the peace and pays €1,200 to Irish Rail.

Luigi Rea BL, defending, said Diaz apologised to the court for his foolishness and had brought €500 to court. Judge Codd said Diaz “should have known better”. She imposed a suspended two-year sentence on the condition that he keeps the peace and pays €2,500 to Irish Rail.

Thomas Horan BL, defending Espinosa, handed a letter of apology to the court and said Epinosa had brought €300 in compensation. Judge Codd imposed a suspended two-year sentence on the condition that Espinosa keeps the peace. She also ordered he pay €1,700 to Irish Rail.