Athlone brothers who escaped Venezuelan prison jailed for nine months

Two Athlone brothers who “escaped from hell” of a Venezuelan prison last year have been jailed for nine months for mugging a couple in the town back in 2011.

Lee O’Neill (25) and Dermot O’Neill (20), both with addresses at 16 Parnell Square, Athlone were described by Judge Seamus Hughes as “professional criminals” as he convicted them on Wednesday last (May 7) of robbing a man at the Ard Rí apartments on the old Dublin Road, Athlone in the early hours of October 13, 2011.

The man received a black eye as a result of the incident as he and his partner were knocked to the ground and kicked during the attack and robbed of their belongings as they attempted to get into the apartment complex.

The court heard that the couple later called gardai and were able to identify the culprits a short distance away from the squad car. The pair were found in possession of their personal items including bags, wallets, phones and cash.

The brothers were “violently aggressive” and tried to break up the patrol car after their arrest, Insp Nicholas Farrell outlined in evidence, adding that a garda van was called to take them back to the station where they later urinated in the cell until it flowed out the door and defecated the area causing €130 of damage.
Solicitor Tony McLynn stated in mitigation that Dermot O’Neill has no previous convictions and Lee O’Neill has a sole public order conviction dating back to 2007 and neither has come to notice since.

However, the legal representative also made reference to the pair's “mental health issues” handing in medical letters on behalf of both men in relation to post-traumatic stress disorder.

When asked by Judge Seamus Hughes what brought that on, Mr McLynn went on to explain that the pair had been incarcerated in a Venezuelan jail in relation to drug charges. The pair had been convicted and received an eleven year jail sentence in the South American country.

When asked how they got out by Athlone’s judge, Lee O’Neill said he did not want to disclose that information. Mr McLynn chipped in that as he understood it someone more sinister had put them up to going to Venezuela.

Judge Hughes asked the pair if they were still afraid and if they felt they were targets? Lee O’Neill said he couldn’t answer that, adding that “it’s what we’ve seen when we were away”.

Dermot O’Neill told the court that they had witnessed murders and stabbings in the jail. If someone does something wrong, they were executed by their fellow prisoners, he added.

An escape of sorts was made by the duo, Mr McLynn confirmed to the court after both men point blank refused to answer questions about how they fled the Venezuelan prison last year and came back to Athlone.

Insp Nicholas Farrell told the court that there is no application for their return to the South American country. “We escaped from hell,” Dermot O’Neill simply stated in Wednesday’s court prior to sentencing.

However, Judge Seamus Hughes said that their guilty pleas were “self serving” and the only reason they did so was otherwise they would be sent forward to the Circuit Court where they could get a sentence of five years.

Neither shows a “scintilla of remorse” and have failed to answer questions in a satisfactory manner, he said, adding that the brothers are “professional criminals'. Not only did they rob the couple, they kicked and assaulted them, the judge continued, stating he felt there should be more charges.

He sentenced the pair to nine months in jail for the mugging offence and a three month jail term to be served concurrently on the other charge. A sum of €400 brought to court by the defendants was directed to be given to the victims as compensation.