STRICT BAIL FOR ALLEGED KIDNAPPER
A young Dundalk man who is alleged ‘ kidnapped another man and robbed him’ has been released on bail with strict conditions after Judge John Coughlan heard that he had turned his life around,
Richard McDonagh, 10 A Castletown Road, Dundalk, is charged with falsely imprisoning a male from Tesco, Stapleton Place to the pedestrian entrance of Boyd’s car park, of falsely imprisoning a male at the bus depot, Long Walk, of robbing a person of a wallet, wire cutter and shoulder bag at the pedestrian entrance to Boyd’s Car Park, and of burglary and possession of a knife at Williamson Place on June 6 2016.
Evidence of arrest charge and caution as given, and the court heard that the defendant had replied ‘ there was no knife’.
Solicitor Mr Frank McDonnell said his client had been arrested by arrangement that morning and pleaded that the offence was 20 months old and that in that time, his client had taken the court’s direction and was under the care of the Probation Service and had returned to education at a training centre, where he was an example to others as to the way he had turned himself around and had received glowing reports.
‘He has come on leaps and bounds and were he to return to custody, all that effort might fall away,’ he urged.
Inspector Martin Beggy told the court that the defendant was facing ‘serious offence’ and he was seeking a remand in custody. He had a number of previous convictions.
Judge Coughlan said he was refusing jurisdiction of the case, noting that false imprisonment ‘is a serious offence.
Mr McDonnell said his client was currently complying with the terms of a curfew and co-operating with the Probation Service.
Remanding the defendant in custody with consent to bail until September 6 for the preparation of a book of evidence, Judge Coughlan ordered him to keep to a curfew from 6.30pm to 7am, to give his mobile phone number to the gardai and to be available to them 24 hours a day, and to sign on at Dundalk Garda Station every day between 8am and 9am and 2.30pm and 4pm.
‘You are a committed career criminal,’ he told defendant. ‘What I want to do is wipe you from the face of the earth. If you breach any of these conditions I will put you in Mountjoy for a very long time. You will wake up in the middle of the night, screaming my name.’