Two men have been jailed for their roles in a number of violent crimes including stabbing a bus passenger during a robbery and attacking a taxi driver while taking his vehicle.

The court heard that Dylan Smith (22) and Daniel Malone (20) viciously attacked the taxi driver before they tied him up and dumped him head first into a ditch.

The victim managed to free himself and was later treated for a skull and multiple facial fractures.

The following month they forced a passenger off a bus after Smith stabbed him in the thigh and robbed his phone and iPod.

Smith then escorted the man to a nearby ATM in a garage forecourt were he forced him to withdraw €200. He and Malone then made their escape in a nearby taxi which they were later arrested in.

Smith and Malone pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawful seizure of a car and false imprisonment of a taxi driver on Tubber Lane, Lucan on August 21, 2013.

Smith of Captains Road, Crumlin and also Weaver Road in Clonsilla, also pleaded guilty to robbery of Simon Hatch at Topaz Garage on the Kylemore Road, Bluebell on September 17, 2013. He also admitted possession of a knife and resisting a peace officer on the same date in Ballyfermot Garda Station.

Malone of Spiddal Road, Ballyfermot also pleaded guilty to robbery only in relation to the September 17, 2013 incident.

Smith was on bail for a Roscommon robbery at the time of both incidents. He has 57 previous convictions including robbery, threats to kill, possession of knives, theft and road traffic offences.

Malone has one previous conviction for handling stolen property but had not come to garda attention before these incidents.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed six years with the final 18 months suspended on Smith consecutive to his sentence from Roscommon. She imposed four and a half years with the final 18 months suspended on Malone.

Pieter Le Vert BL, defending Smith, handed in a number of psychological reports into court and said his client had “a tough upbringing punctuated by episodes of violence”.

He submitted that his client was substance free since he went into custody and is on an enhanced regime in prison. Smith had written a letter of apology to his victims and his family.

“At this stage he is at a high risk of re-offending but if he maintains his drug free status his risk presentation will reduce to moderate,” Mr Le Vert told Judge Ring.

“There seems to be hope for him and he is seizing every opportunity he can while in prison,” counsel continued.

James Dwyer BL, defending Malone, said his client had large family support in court and his father has died recently.

He said since July this year Malone has been attending a local drug treatment centre for his substance misuse.

Counsel submitted that it was difficult to ascertain who did what in the attack on the taxi driver and asked Judge Ring to accepted that Malone “played a lesser role but an intrinsic role” in both offences.

“He suddenly exploded onto the scene out of nowhere having a previously clean record,” Mr Dwyer said before he asked the court to accept the efforts his client has since made.

He said Malone wished to express his apologies to both victims and submitted that he now has insight into the trouble he caused them and is seeking to rehabilitate.

Garda Daryl Kearns told Garret Baker BL, prosecuting, that a taxi driver was stopped in Palmerstown in the early hours of the morning when a man begged him to take him to Celbridge claiming that he was in trouble.

He shouted “lads we have a taxi” before two others got into vehicle. The driver was directed where to go and the men became agitated when he didn’t follow their exact instructions. They claimed they needed to collect horse food.

When the driver didn’t take a certain exit he was shouted at and grabbed from behind.

He said he didn’t want any trouble and agreed to comply with their directions before he was told to pull into a gateway.

The driver again said he didn’t want any trouble before the men robbed his mobile phones and €250 in cash. One robber said “this is a nice car, we will take the car” and took the keys off the driver even after he indicated there was a tracking system attached to the taxi.

The driver was then punched in the face before a bar was taken for the back of his taxi and he was punched and kicked. The men then retrieved some rope from the car and tied his hands and feet before they took off his shoes and dumped him head first into a ditch.

The victim took three or four minutes to free himself before he got some help from people in a nearby house. He was later taken to hospital where he was treated for a skull fracture and multiple facial fractures.

Gda Kearns said the car was later discovered burnt out. None of the items were recovered.

The men were arrested nearby and all three of them had blood stains on their clothes. They didn’t give a satisfactory explanation as to where they had been

Garda Andrew Sheerin said that Simon Hatch was on a bus to work at 7.35am on September 17, 2013 when Malone and Smith sat beside him.

He was instructed to hand over everything from his pockets or he would be cut up. Mr Hatch handed over his phone, iPod, a tablet and €25 before his PIN was demanded off him.

He was told he was to get off the bus and when he tried to reason that he couldn’t because he was on his way to work the robbers threatened to stay on the bus until then.

Smith then took a knife and stabbed Mr Hatch in the left leg above his thigh before he threatened he would “cut you up, I’ll cut you to bits”.

The three got off the bus and Mr Hatch was taken to a nearby Topaz Garage. Malone left while Smith made numerous attempts to take money out of Hatch’s account, ultimately taking €200.

Mr Hatch managed to escape and later received four stitches to a one cm puncture wound in his thigh along with a tetanus shot. He is still attending counselling for post-traumatic stress.

Malone and Smith were arrested later in a taxi after the details of the vehicle were provided to gardaí. Mr Hatch’s property was all recovered.

A victim impact report before the court stated that Mr Hatch had medical expenses totalling €635 and a loss of wages of €400.