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Thermal imaging revealed muggers hiding in bushes

Summary

In a robbery on Station Road, Lusk, on 9 March 2016, Folarin Odunlami (22) and an accomplice used a long steak knife to threaten a young man, demanding his phone, wallet and €110. The victim fled to a nursing home, called Gardaí, and later identified the two men at a train station. Gardaí chased them; they fell 15 feet from a footbridge into a carpark and hid. Garda Air Support Unit detected them a short time later, lying under brambles, using thermal imaging from a helicopter. Odunlami pleaded guilty to robbing the victim's phone, wallet and cash. At a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Judge Melanie Greally noted his remorse and lack of further offences, ordering 240 hours of community service. The case highlighted the use of thermal imaging to locate suspects hiding in vegetation.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Thermal imaging revealed muggers hiding in bushes. Charges or matters: robbing a phone, a wallet and its contents from a young man on Station Road, Lusk, Co Dublin on March 9, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• March 9, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2019-02-20 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Theft

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Read the original CNI report