Prison sentence for Limerick criminal who 'laid into' innocent man in laneway
Barrister Erin O’Hagan told Limerick Circuit Court her client has a ‘quite colourful past’ due to his history of drug addiction
A LIMERICK man with a “quite colourful past” has been jailed following, what was described as, “a case of stalking.”
Johnathan Blackhall, aged 30, with an address in Prospect, Limerick city, had pleaded guilty to a number of charges of robbery, theft and production of an article when he appeared before Judge Colin Daly via video-link from Limerick Prison.
Giving evidence at Limerick Circuit Court, Detective Garda Enda Barrett, of Henry Street garda station, said at 4:58am on August 4, 2024, a man reported being robbed at a laneway in the city centre.
Prosecuting Barrister John O’Sullivan said the victim in this case had been socialising at a friend’s apartment and was drinking before making his way home, on foot, through the city centre. He was 35-years-old at the time of the attack.
It was as he was walking that the injured party was approached by a woman, aged in her 20s. The pair made small talk before walking down Erson’s Lane, which connects Anne Street and Catherine Street.
The victim told gardaí that he and the woman, referred to as Miss X, were then approached by another man, later identified as Johnathon Blackhall, while in this lane. Blackhall then stated: “What are you doing with my girlfriend?”
From here, Blackhall proceeded to restrain the victim, threw a number of punches at him and had him in a “chokehold” while Miss X went through his pockets, taking his phone, wallet, cash and tobacco. Gardaí subsequently observed injuries on the victim’s face and head.
The victim also complained of pain in his neck, hand and chest but he did not require medical attention on the day. Pictures of the injuries were presented to the court.
The injured party’s top was “excessively ripped” during the attack and it was later seized by gardaí to assist with their investigation.
He further stated that Blackhall was “laying into” him as he was on the ground and that the ordeal lasted about five minutes. The victim reported the matter to gardaí shortly afterwards but declined the opportunity to make an impact statement after the guilty plea was entered.
During the sentencing hearing, Detective Barrett narrated CCTV footage, which tracked the movements of Mr Blackhall and Miss X in the moments before the attack.
Mr O’Sullivan said it was his belief that this was “a case of stalking” as the pair had been observed watching the victim before the robbery took place.
Also on CCTV, Miss X was seen approaching the victim while Mr Blackhall followed behind at a distance. While actual robbery was not captured on CCTV, the footage did show the victim leaving the area minutes later while Blackhall and Miss X were later spotted in various city centre locations.
Johnathan Blackhall was arrested on January 28, 2025 and interviewed by gardaí on two occasions. Nothing of an evidential nature emerged during the interviews and the stolen property was never recovered. He was charged with the offence last November and granted bail.
Detective Barrett said Blackhall was easily identified on CCTV as it was of “good quality” and that no-one else entered Erson’s lane except for him, Miss X and the victim.
Giving evidence in relation to another robbery offence, Detective Garda Shane Stanley, also of Henry Street garda station, said that an incident took place at the Diesel store at Bedford Row, on January 3 of this year.
He said about five minutes before closing time, Blackhall and a woman, referred to in court as Miss Y, entered the retail premises and stole roughly €300 worth of clothes.
It was the prosecution’s case that Miss Y distracted a shop assistant while Blackhall stole stock. Blackhall has continuously maintained that the woman was unaware of his actions at this time. The manager, who was on duty, closed the doors of the store in an attempt to stop the pair from leaving and asked for the clothing back.
At this point, Blackhall produced a pair of scissors from his pocket and threatened the woman, aged in her late 30s, with them. She feared she was going to be stabbed and opened the doors again. This incident was captured on CCTV.
Judge Daly was told the manager’s husband was waiting outside the premises and that he also tried to stop the robbery. However, he was grabbed by Miss Y, who shouted at him to stop and said Blackhall was “sick”.
The culprits abandoned most of the clothing but still made off with over €100 worth of stock and headed in the direction of O’Connell Street following the offence.
When he was arrested the next day, gardai found a pair of scissors in Jonathan Blackhall’s pocket.
The court heard Blackhall also committed a burglary at an apartment on William Street on August 15, 2025. It was heard that he forced his way into the building through a side-door, entered an apartment and stole €100 worth of motor accessories from the hallway while the tenant was sleeping. CCTV showed that Mr Blackhall was accompanied by Miss Y.
Details of a number of shoplifting offences, committed by Blackhall throughout 2025, were also outlined to Limerick Circuit Court. None of the stolen items were ever recovered and it was heard that he was on bail when he carried out some of the thefts.
He was arrested on January 4, 2026 and charged two days later with a number of matters. He has been in custody since he first appeared before Limerick District Court.
Johnathan Blackhall has a number of previous convictions, including for criminal damage, possession of drugs for sale/supply, possession of a knife, theft, burglary and false imprisonment. He has no employment history.
Barrister Erin O’Hagan, instructed by solicitor Sarah Ryan, said she is aware that her client has a “quite colourful past”, submitting it is due to his “longstanding” history of drug addiction and “difficult adolescence".
He has quite a colourful past
Ms O’Hagan said the charges before the court “tell the tale” that he has a very serious addiction and that he committed the thefts and robberies to feed his habit. She reminded Judge Daly that her client was before the court on early signed pleas and that no victim impact statements had been prepared for the court.
The barrister disclosed that her client is a father to four children, with the youngest being 14-months-old. She said that Blackhall has spent the last seven months in custody “tackling” his addiction by consistently engaging with services. He is currently working as a cleaner in Limerick Prison and hopes to re-locate, outside of Limerick, following his release.
Mr Blackhall penned a “quite insightful” letter to the court, which, Ms O’Hagan submitted, shows he has taken full responsibility for his actions and is apologetic to all his victims.
It was further disclosed that Mr Blackhall’s partner lost a set of twins during pregnancy and a funeral was held. It was said that while he was supporting his partner through this difficult time, he relapsed.
Describing him as a “very very remorseful human,” Ms O’Hagan said he had little guidance as a child, spent a number of years in Oberstown Children Detention Campus throughout his youth and is “anxious” for the matter to be finalised.
Ms O’Hagan said this was a result of the “sobering effect of being in custody.”
In sentencing, Judge Colin Daly said that Blackhall and Miss X “clearly intended” to rob someone on the morning of August 4, 2024.
He set a headline sentence of five years imprisonment.
On the burglary charge, Judge Daly said this was a “violation of the victim’s home” considering Mr Blackhall entered while he was sleeping and set a headline sentence of four years imprisonment. For the robbery offence at Diesel, a headline sentence of six years was set.
Judge Daly noted that Blackhall was in “throws of addiction” during this period and he said he was taking a “global approach” to the shoplifting matters. He grouped those offences into two categories - those committed before bail and those committed while on bail. He set a headline sentence of two years’ imprisonment for each charge.
In mitigation, the Judge took into account Blackhall’s early guilty pleas, his personal circumstances, his “difficult childhood,” his involvement in criminality from a young age, the loss of his twin babies, the fact that he is doing well in custody and that his addiction was “at the route of his offences.”
Blackhall was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment for the robbery at Erson’s Lane and two-and-a-half years for the burglary at William Street. Both sentences are to run concurrently to one another, meaning they will be served at the same time.
The 30-year-old was further sentenced to three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for the Diesel offence, which will run consecutively to the other sentences as he was on bail at the time he committed the offence.
For the shoplifting matters that occurred before he was granted bail, Blackhall was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment for each charge, to run concurrently with the other sentences.
For the offences that took place while he was on bail, he was sentenced to one year’s imprisonment on each charge, to run consecutively.
In total, the father-of-four was sentenced to six-and-a-half years’ imprisonment but taking the principal of totality into consideration, Judge Daly suspended the final 18 months for a period of five years.
Blackhall was ordered to keep the peace, be of good behaviour and to engage with the probation services upon his release from prison.
The sentence was backdated to when he entered custody on January 6, 2026.