A 28‑year‑old serial burglar, Florin Marticie, was found guilty of trespassing and sentenced to six months in prison. He claimed he did not know why he was arrested and said he was only going to a bus stop after finishing a morning's work for a friend. Marticie denied involvement in an attempted break‑in at a house in Ardla, Skerries, on 8 August. Detective Garda Vincent Healy reported that two men were seen near the house after the alarm went off, and that a pot plant had been thrown at a back window. Marticie was arrested after the Garda saw him walking past the bus stop. The court heard he had three previous convictions for burglary and theft and was currently serving a sentence.
Paula Reid, 50, of Drogheda, is accused of stealing €19,604 from Hugh Burrows & Sons Ltd, a knitwear manufacturer in Balbriggan, over a four‑year period from November 2008 to December 2012. She faces 64 theft offences. The case was presented at Balbriggan District Court where Sergeant Tony Tighe gave evidence of her arrest, charge and caution. Judge Dermot Dempsey directed a trial on indictment and remanded Reid on continuing bail to re‑appear on 26 January next year. The court also heard the case of Gunars Baumanis, 45, who was convicted of dangerous driving, hit and run, failing to remain at the scene and displaying a false tax disc. Baumanis was given a three‑month suspended sentence, a four‑year driving disqualification for dangerous driving, a six‑month disqualification for failing to stop, a €300 fine for the offence and a €100 fine for failing to report the incident. Gunars Baumanis pleaded guilty.
A High Court judge has set aside an entire week to write the judicial review judgement in the case of a man facing extradition on terrorism charges. An Algerian-born Irish citizen sought the judicial review of an attempt to extradite him to the United States, where he is wanted on international terrorism charges. Ali Charaf Damache (48), who has been living in Ireland for a decade, is wanted in the United States to face charges relating to the conspiracy to provide material support for terrorists and attempted identity theft to facilitate an act of international terrorism. The US alleges it has evidence that Damache conspired with an American woman calling herself, 'Jihad Jane', and others to create a terror cell in Europe capable of targeting both US and western European citizens.
David Cullen, aged 34, was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing €302,000 from Irish Life & Permanent between 2005 and 2008. He used the money to fund foreign holidays, attend rugby matches, buy a BMW and deposit it into his personal account. The appeal to reduce the sentence was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal, which found no error in the original four‑year term imposed by Judge Martin Nolan.
A 23‑year‑old man, Martin Daly of Balbriggan, was charged with unlawful possession of heroin and Diazepam, obstruction of a Garda, attempted swallowing of heroin bags, threatening and abusive behaviour, assaulting a Garda, and possession of a stolen laptop. He was remanded on continuing bail to appear before Balbriggan District Court on 16 January next year. A 34‑year‑old man, Aidan McDonnell of Lusk, was charged with disorderly conduct and pushing a Garda. He was remanded on continuing bail to appear before Swords District Court on 3 February next year. A 37‑year‑old man, Sebestian Knecht of Swords, was charged with using an altered driving licence, possessing a false insurance disc, and driving without insurance. He was remanded on continuing bail to appear before Swords District Court on 3 February next year. All three cases were heard by Judge Dermot Dempsey.
Patrick McCann, aged 20, received a 20‑year sentence, with the final three years suspended, for the attempted murder of his friend Luke Wilson, aged 19, at Liffey Gaels GAA club in Inchicore on 13 January 2013. McCann pleaded guilty to attempted murder and to possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. The court heard that Wilson was shot in the arm, neck and face, but the gun jammed twice and McCann fled. Wilson suffered serious injuries, including loss of an eye, cerebral stroke, and permanent arm palsy. McCann had prior convictions for drug possession, sale, theft and burglary, and was on bail at the time of the shooting. The judge noted McCann's long‑term drug and alcohol dependence and a dysfunctional family background as mitigating factors. The sentencing was described by the judge as reminiscent of a "Love/Hate" script.
Paul Murtagh, 29, of Clonshaugh Heights, appeared before Swords District Court on 13 November 2013 charged with driving without insurance. He was alleged to have been stopped twice this year: on 17 April on Malahide Road and on 2 September on Feltrim Road, both times for lacking insurance. Defence solicitor Patrick Jackson requested a hearing date for both matters. Judge Dermot Dempsey asked why Murtagh had not appeared earlier; Murtagh replied he was at his grandfather's funeral. The judge remanded him on a €200 bond and adjourned the case to 27 January. Murtagh had previously been convicted on Monday at Dublin District Court for possessing a stolen Marmoset monkey, caught in his car on 1 October 2013 after the animal was taken during a burglary in County Kildare. He avoided prison, receiving 80 hours of community service in lieu of four months.
Janina Griskevica, 54, pleaded guilty in Swords District Court to assaulting store detective David Ellison, possessing a pocket knife, and stealing nearly €50 from Woodies DIY on 25 August. She claimed the knife was for work and that she had no intention to steal, saying she panicked after losing her wallet and thought it was in the shop's toilet. Garda Noel Callan testified that Griskevica punched Ellison when he tried to retrieve the items and that she attempted to take the knife from her pocket when handcuffed. Griskevica had no prior convictions. Judge Alan Mitchell sentenced her to two months for each offence – assault, theft and possession of a knife – and suspended each for six months, ordering €1,000 in compensation. The case concluded with the suspended sentences and no custodial term imposed.
A garda, Damien Dempsey, who admitted using a missing motor tax disc from his station on his own car, had theft and fraud charges dismissed by a judge. However, he was fined €500 for not having his car taxed. Dempsey, who had previously been found guilty of stealing the tax disc, fraudulently using it, and not having motor insurance, had his remaining charges dismissed. The judge ruled there was no evidence of intent to permanently deprive someone of the disc or a demand for an insurance certificate. Dempsey, who has over 20 years of service, admitted not having his car taxed but pleaded not guilty to the other charges. He explained that he took the disc when his car's tax ran out and faced financial difficulties, including a broken marriage and monthly expenses of €2,500. He stated he never intended the act to be theft and was struggling with financial stress and anxiety.
Paul Murtagh, 29, of Dublin, pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen South American Marmoset and to unlawful possession of a stun gun. He was caught with the monkey in his car on 1 October after it had been taken during a burglary in Co. Kildare. Garda Liam Eviston stopped his vehicle and found the animal in the boot. Murtagh also admitted to carrying a stun gun, seized on 27 October 2009, which he had bought legally abroad but is banned in Ireland. The court heard he had no sinister intent and had only used the gun on himself. Judge Bryan Smyth imposed community service to avoid custodial sentences: 80 hours for the monkey, 120 hours for the stun gun, instead of four‑month and six‑month jail terms respectively. The monkey was returned to its owners. The case was heard in Dublin District Court.
Patrick McCann, aged 20, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life after shooting his lifelong friend Luke Wilson, aged 19, at Liffey Gaels GAA club in Inchicore on 13 January 2013. McCann fired a shot that struck Wilson's neck, causing him to fall, and a second shot that hit Wilson's right arm. Wilson later reported being shot again but the gun jammed. Wilson suffered severe injuries, including the loss of his right eye, facial wounds, a cerebral stroke, and permanent arm palsy. McCann, who had prior convictions for drug possession, drug sale, theft, and aggravated burglary, was arrested the same day. He denied involvement and claimed he was coerced by drug debt. The court will sentence him next week, with the prosecution describing the offence as high‑level.
Ali Charaf Damache, an Algerian‑born Irish citizen aged 48, has applied for leave to seek judicial review of an attempt to extradite him to the United States, where he faces international terrorism charges. The High Court heard that the United States alleges Damache conspired with American woman Colleen LaRose, known online as "Jihad Jane," and others to create a terror cell in Europe capable of targeting U.S. and Western European citizens. Damache, who used the username "the black flag," is also alleged to have participated in a conspiracy to transfer a passport stolen from a U.S. citizen to an individual in Pakistan believed to be a member of Al Qaeda. Counsel for Damache, Mr Mícheál O'Higgins SC, argued that the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided not to prosecute him in Ireland and had unlawfully delegated the prosecution to the United States, thereby infringing Damache's constitutional rights.
The High Court heard that the United States alleges Ali Charaf Damache, an Algerian‑born Irish citizen aged 48, conspired from early 2008 to July 2011 with others to devise a violent jihad organisation aimed at targeting US and Western European citizens. The FBI claims Damache, who used the online alias "the black flag," also participated in a conspiracy to transfer a stolen US passport to a Pakistani individual believed to be an Al Qaeda member. The US alleges Damache worked with American woman Colleen LaRose, known online as "Jihad Jane," and others to create a terror cell in Europe. If extradited and convicted, Damache could face a 45‑year sentence and possible incarceration in the ADX super‑maximum‑security prison in Florence, Colorado. The case is adjourned for a separate application for judicial review of the extradition proceedings, with Damache's counsel arguing that the State's decision not to prosecute him in Ireland breaches his constitutional rights.