A 36-year old man, who has spent most of his adult life in jail, is back behind bars after a policeman from Oman was robbed at knifepoint in a Belfast apartment.
Gerard Magee, whose address was given as HMP Maghaberry, admitted his role in a burglary at the Obel Tower, and robbing an occupant of £200.
Belfast Crown Court heard the victim was among a contingent of visiting offiers being trained by the PSNI.
The victim and colleagues from the Sultanate were staying on the third floor when, at around 1am on September 19, 2017, he woke to find two men in his bedroom, demanding his wallet at knifepoint, before asking for "the other money".
A flatmate raised the alarm with colleagues in neighbouring apartments, prompting the intruders to flee.
A bloodstained knife bearing Magee's DNA was found in a nearby laneway and CCTV footage showed two men fleeing the building to Fianna House in the Divis area.
His accomplice remains at large.
The court heard Magee, who was "grossly intoxicated", had been released from prison "a matter of days when he committed these offences".
Defence barrister Greg Berry QC said Magee "has spent most of his adult life in custody, since 2003 he had hardly been out, and when he gets out he re-offends".
Stressing there was no violence, he said the knife belonged to the apartment and was not brought to the scene, indicating an "opportunistic and unsophisticated" crime.
Jailing him for two years and three months the judge told him: "You must accept your behaviour, to put it mildly, was out of order."
