NINE YEARS FOR ROLE IN KIDNAP OF LOCAL FAMILY

A man who participated in the tiger kidnap of a postal worker and his family has been sentenced to nine years in prison.

The court heard that Mark McCarthy (32) was acting under duress when he held the family hostage prior to the An Post employee being forced to hand over €661,125 from Drogheda Post Office where he worked.

McCarthy of Elm Dale Crescent, Ballyfermot pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment of Warren and Jean Marie Nawn and their ten week old baby between August 1st and 2nd 2011.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the family were held in their home by the raiders before being driven to a rural location where they were kept captive overnight.

During this time they were repeatedly threatened, sometimes at gunpoint. One of the men told Mr Nawn “there’s a mad bastard on the way and he’ll have no problem raping your wife.”

Mrs Nawn was told to “shut the baby up” when it cried and was told by one raider that if her husband did not comply they would have to “try for another baby”. She said another man told her not to worry. Mr Nawn was threatened that his wife would be killed if he did not comply. He said it was hard to hear what the men were telling him as his eyes, mouth and ears were covered with duct tape.

The following day Mr Nawn was instructed to drive to his work place as normal and inform his supervisor what was happening.

A large cash delivery went ahead as normal before Mr Nawn took the money and dropped it to a location where it was recovered by the gang.

Ms Nawn who had been cable tied to a bed with her baby, managed to free herself after the raiders left and was found in a very distressed state. Her ten week old baby, who had not been fed for 19 hours, was highly dehydrated.

The court heard that investigating gardai “struck it lucky” after being alerted to a partially burnt out car which contained McCarthy’s finger prints on a pizza box and his DNA on cigarette butts.

In sentencing, Judge Patricia Ryan said that the crime was one “of a very serious nature.”

“It was a violent crime which was pre-planned and premeditated and one during which weapons were used.”

She acknowledged McCarthy’s early guilty plea, his efforts at rehabilitation while in prison and the fact that he made no financial gain from the crime as he was taking part in it in order to discharge a drug debt.

Judge Ryan backdated his sentence to November 2013, when he was taken into custody.