Teen remanded in detention on firearm charge

A teenager has appeared in court in relation to the discharge of a firearm into the front door of a residential home in Mullingar on Monday afternoon.

The 16-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to his age, was arrested alongside a second male, and charged on Tuesday with criminal damage and the reckless discharge of a firearm, in which pellets penetrated the front door of a property from the outside.

Detective Garda Adrian Reilly gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution at Longford District Court, and said that the teen had replied “it will be paid for” to the first charge, but made no reply to the second.

Gardaí were objecting to bail under Section 2 of the Bail Act 1997, and O’Callaghan’s rules, citing the seriousness of the charges,

Det Gda Reilly outlined to the court how CCTV footage from the injured party’s house showed the accused and another man walking towards the house, as the accused assembled an improvised shotgun, known as a “slammer”.

A second male was seen behind him and appeared to be filming the incident. There was a loud bang, which sent pellets through the wood of the front door, before both culprits ran away.

CCTV then shows the owner of the house and four of her children running out and following the two youths. One of the woman’s sons chased the two teens about 100 metres up the road to a Spar shop, where a struggle ensued.

The gun was dropped, Det Gda Reilly explained, and CCTV footage from the shop shows the other accused picking it up. A shotgun cartridge fell from the accused’s pocket during the struggle.

Gardaí are in possession of the cartridge, but the gun has not been located, which is of serious concern to investigators. Another concern is an ongoing feud between the accused and the son of the injured party.

“Gardaí believe if released on bail, he will continue to engage in criminal activity. We are concerned he’ll interfere with witnesses and he would be in a position to retrieve the firearm and use it again,” said Det Gda Reilly.

“The family is scared of being attacked again and the next attack could result in serious injury or fatality.”

The mother of the family who lived in the home that was attacked told the court that she has concerns for her family should the accused be given bail.

“My girls’ bedroom is downstairs beside the door. I thank God nothing happened to my youngest daughter (who was in the room at the time),” she said.

“She witnessed it. She recognised the boy and she was the one who opened the door first, which scared me, because if he’d still been standing there, he could have done something to her because she recognised him.”

When asked how she would feel about the accused getting bail, she said “I am a mother. I have kids and at the moment I’m not comfortable for him to have bail.

“I want him to learn that what he did was wrong. He has to learn a lesson. My girls are afraid because they sleep downstairs in the room beside the door. It’s very upsetting as a mother seeing your babies feeling afraid in their own house, a house that’s supposed to feel safe to them. A house that’s supposed to protect them. And seeing them scared… that makes me angry,” she said.

The accused, addressing the court, said that he was under pressure to do what he did. He said it’s “very difficult” for him to go around town without his hood up in case he’s recognised.

“I don’t feel safe because of (the son of the injured party) and his friends. They just make it hard for me,” he said.

He asked Judge Bernadette Owens to understand that his actions were not in his nature, and said he felt ashamed of himself.

“If I’d known there were younger people in the house, I wouldn’t have done it. If I ever get the chance to apologise, I will,” he said.

In mitigation, Andrea Callan, BL, stressed to the court that, while she appreciates the stress her client’s actions have caused the injured parties, “detention is a last resort” in the case of juveniles, and “detention is not something to teach someone a lesson”.

“He is a 16-year-old boy, and a young 16. It is my submission that very, very, very strict bail conditions would be appropriate,” she said, stating that her client would be willing to sign on daily and abide by a curfew.

Judge Owens noted the “dilemma” in the injured party’s face when she was asked about the possibility of the accused being remanded in detention.

“I could see that as a mother, she had a conflict there, knowing how difficult this would be for the mother of the accused sitting on the other side of the room,” she said.

“The accused came to a house in broad daylight with no regard for the occupants of the house. He has no supervision at home during the day and that is no criticism of his mother. She has to go out and work and provide for her family.

“But there is an undercurrent to this case, which in my view is still there. The weapon that was used has still not been located. And I’m not satisfied any bail conditions will be sufficient unless somebody can satisfy me he can be supervised in a more rigorous way.”

With that in mind, she remanded the teen in detention “for the moment” to this Thursday at Mullingar District Court, when further evidence is expected to be given in respect of his supervision.