A 21-year-old Dublin man has been accused of participating in an attack on a teenager who was “bundled” into a car boot and set on by masked men armed with weapons, including a knife and a hammer.
Eric O’Driscoll, whose address cannot be publicised due to a court order, was refused bail after he was charged with violent disorder. It follows a 15-month investigation by the incident room at Finglas Garda station.
The incident allegedly happened at a public location in Finglas on January 30th last year.
Mr O’Driscoll, from Finglas, was charged and brought to appear before Judge Marie Quirke at Dublin District Court on Saturday.
Detective Garda Siobhan Tolan objected to bail, citing the seriousness of the offence and fears of possible witness intimidation fears.
The offence carries a possible ten-year sentence and a possible fine.
She told the court that it was alleged at about 9.30 pm on January 30th last year a 16-year-old boy was “set upon by five males”. A contested bail hearing was told the boy was attacked, and a hammer, wrench and knife were used as weapons. The court heard the group dressed in black wore ski masks, hats and gloves.
The court heard the boy was “bundled” into the boot of a 05-reg Saab car other people intervened and “fought to pull him from the boot”.
Judge Quirke heard the teen was attacked again and “badly injured”, requiring hospitalisation. However, the youth did not engage with the investigation apart from providing a DNA sample.
Gardaí obtained CCTV footage, and DNA samples were taken from the clothing recovered. It was alleged the Saab was bought in south Dublin hours before the incident and abandoned later.
The detective agreed with defence counsel Kevin McCrave that the accused had no prior convictions. She accepted the witnesses were not present for the bail hearing but did not agree to the counsel’s suggestion that his client be released with strict bail conditions.
The court heard that the accused had been injured two weeks ago in a motorcycle accident resulting in being hospitalised for a week and requiring skin grafts. The defence said Mr O’Driscoll was not fully mobile.
Judge Quirke said the accused had the presumption of innocence and held there was no witness intimidation evidence. However, she refused bail.
The court granted legal aid to Mr O’Driscoll after noting he was unemployed. The accused, yet to plead, did not address the court.
He was remanded in custody and will face his next hearing on May 4th at Cloverhill District Court via video link.
