A man who failed the driver theory test four times has been jailed after he forged a learner permit licence from a friend’s test results, a court has heard.

Aaron Dunne (21) asked his friend to sit the theory test in Dunne’s name and then altered the friend’s licence by putting his own photograph on it.

The licence was seized but reissued the next day after Dunne reported the licence lost at a garda station and gardai stamped a licence replacement form.

Dunne of Grangeview Road, Clondalkin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to ten counts of having and using a false learner permit driving licence at various locations in Clondalkin, Dublin and in Tullow, Co Carlow on dates between June and November 2012.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring jailed Dunne for two and a half years for the fraud offences, after noting he has a prior history of using false driving licence documents. She banned Dunne from driving for four years for an offence of driving without insurance.

Detective Garda Colm Traynor told Dara Hayes BL, prosecuting, that the altering of the licence was done to such a level that most people, including himself, would not spot it without specialist equipment.

Dunne’s friend sat the theory test in June 2012 and the licence was issued in Dunne’s name later that month. Dunne altered the licence by changing the photograph to one of himself.

Gardaí from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation launched an investigation based on concerns that Dunne was driving with a forged licence.

From June to November 2012, gardaí stopped Dunne a number of times and asked him to produce the licence. In October 2012, a detective stopped him and seized the false licence.

Dunne reported the licence lost the next day and filled out an application form for a replacement. This form was signed and stamped by a local garda and a replacement licence issued at a local motor tax office.

The following month Det Gda Traynor seized the replacement licence after stopping Dunne again. The next day Dunne presented a lost licence application form at a garda station where the form was again stamped.

Judge Ring asked if gardaí had checked the garda PULSE computer database before stamping the form. Det Gda Traynor said this didn’t happen. He said that the details of the seizure of the licences would be on the database.

Dunne’s attempt to get the licence reissued a second time failed because Det Gda Traynor was present at the motor tax office when Dunne came in.

Judge Ring said that the continued use over an extended period of the false documents was not a minor matter and posed a danger to the public.

Dunne has 18 previous convictions including a number of other charges of having or using a false driving license.

Derek Cooney BL, defending, said that these offences stemmed from the death of Dunne’s father in January 2012. He said that Dunne’s father was the driver in the family and that Dunne had tried to take up that position to help out his widowed mother.

Dunne also admitted two charges of criminal damage and producing a baseball bat during a dispute at Joel’s restaurant, Newland’s cross, Dublin on January 15, 2013.

He was on bail for the fraud offences at this time. Judge Ring imposed a sentence of two and a half years, with 18 months suspended, for these offences.

This will run consecutive to the sentence for the fraud offences, giving a total operative prison term of three and a half years.

Judge Ring backdated the sentence to January 15 last when he went into custody.

Detective Garda Padraic Jennings told Dara Hayes BL, prosecuting, that in January 2013 Derek Walker had placed a Longford registration BMW-5 series estate for sale on the “Done Deal” website.

A person made an offer, via text, to buy the car and arranged to meet Mr Walker in the car park of the restaurant off the N7 near Rathcoole.

When Mr Walker and a female friend arrived in the car park he noticed a Volkswagen Touareg jeep with blacked out windows and a silver Renault Laguna parked there. Mr Walker drove to the end of the car park. When he turned the car around to leave the other two cars blocked him off.

Dunne got out of the jeep and walked over to the jeep. He was holding a baseball bat and started smashing the bat off the roof of the car.

Mr Walker managed to drive out of the car park and onto the Naas road. He telephoned gardai who gave him directions to get to the nearest garda station.

The court heard that the co-accused was driving behind the victim in the Laguna and was trying to ram Mr Walker off the road.

The Laguna eventually crashed into Mr Walker’s car and Mr Walker and his friend got out and ran in opposite directions.

Gardai arrived on the scene soon after and arrested the co-accused. They later arrested Dunne in the vicinity after spotting the jeep he was driving.