Jonathan Dowdall admits false imprisonment and threats

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Jonathan Dowdall and his father, Patrick Dowdall, admitted falsely imprisoning Alexander Hurley and pleaded guilty to threatening to kill him. The proceedings were reported on 29 April 2017.

The false imprisonment took place on 15 January 2015. The Special Criminal Court was shown footage of Jonathan Dowdall holding a tea-towel over Hurley’s face and pouring water over his head during a three-hour ordeal.

The court heard that gardaí found a USB drive containing footage of the attack while searching Jonathan Dowdall’s home about a separate matter. The report said Dowdall believed Hurley was pretending to be a barrister and seeking his bank details to defraud him. They had met after Dowdall advertised a motorbike for sale.

Defence lawyers said the Dowdalls wanted to apologise for the violence and threats. Both men were remanded in custody until 19 May, when they were due to be sentenced.