Gang leader who fled to Ireland
is sentenced
The ringleader of a gang of violent burglars who had been on the run
in Ireland has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
Damien George McLaughlin, aged 33, headed the gang of five criminals who
forced their way into the homes of at least 45 elderly victims —
one aged 97 — with knives and other weapons and demanded credit
cards and pin numbers.
Some of the victims died in the months after their ordeal. Other members
of McLaughlin’s gang were jailed for a total of 32 years in March
but Damien McLaughlin fled to Manor Cunningham in Donegal in January 2005.
Despite evading police for several months he was subsequently arrested
and extradited in August.
The court heard how the gang would mainly target the homes of North London
pensioners. They forced their way in wearing balaclavas, usually in the
middle of the night when their victims were still in bed.
Once inside they ransacked the place and threatened their petrified victims
with knives and other weapons while demanding cash and cards.
Homeowners were often tied up and not allowed to get up to go to the toilet
while the thugs smoked crack in front of them and tore up precious mementoes
such as letters and birth certificates.
The gang stole many of their victims’ front door keys, locking them
into their own home after cutting their phone lines.
McLaughlin pleaded guilty to 16 counts of conspiracy to rob, claiming
he committed the robberies because of his addiction to crack.
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