Courts / Armagh / Report

Accused withdrew from plan to extort businessman, defence say

Date
2021-05-27

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
NEWRY

County
Armagh

Summary

At the Special Criminal Court, closing arguments concluded in the trial of two men charged with offences arising from an assault on a Mayo businessman in County Louth in December 2017. Thomas McGuinness and William Twomey deny falsely imprisoning, assaulting, and robbing the victim, as well as demanding money with menaces. The prosecution alleged the businessman was lured to a remote location under false pretences and attacked with iron bars by men demanding £50,000. The defence submitted that Mr McGuinness should be acquitted, arguing the prosecution lacked core evidence and that Mr Twomey had withdrawn from the scheme before the assault occurred. The defence contended Mr Twomey had expressed concerns about the plan's escalation and warned gardaí of potential danger to the victim. A third man, Anthony Finglas, was previously convicted and sentenced to four years and nine months for demanding money with menaces. Closing arguments for the second defendant are to follow.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Accused withdrew from plan to extort businessman, defence say. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

December 2, 2017 Other
December 3, 2017 Incident
November 17, 2017 Incident
Christmas Incident
2021-05-27 Publication

Why: Mr Twomey had told the court that he had a "cordial" relationship with Mr McAndrew in both a personal and professional capacity but had admitted that he had told authorities in the North that he was in fear of his life because of Mr McAndrew. CNI source report