The Gardaí at Kilkenny Garda Station are appealing for information in relation to an aggravated burglary that occurred on Saturday the 28th July 2012 in Bennettsbridge.
The previous day, the injured party in this case, an elderly gentleman, living alone in a rural villiage about four miles from Thomastown, went about his usual business. He has a unique collection of antiques at the back of his house which he runs as a museum. Later in the evening, he closed up the museum, had his dinner and cut the grass. At 12.30am he headed to bed, he turned on the radio and had the volume turned up full as he had removed his hearing aid.
Three to four masked and armed raiders burst in through his bedroom door, immediately demanding money. They pulled him out of bed and onto the floor. One of the raiders tied his hands and feet with blue binding twine. They covered his head with a pillowcase and put a gag in his mouth. The raiders found a small safe in the house and removed it. The raiders had been in the house for over an hour. The man waited a while to ensure the raiders were gone before he attempted to move. He crawled to the front door and alerted a passing neighbour.
Appeal:
• On Friday the 27th of July at 3pm, a man and a woman in a black ford fiesta, possibly between 1996 to 2002 model drove into the drive way of the victim’s home. The woman was described as blonde. Gardaí are appealing for this couple to come forward.
• Gardaí are appealing to anybody in the area of Danesfort Road between 1am and 3am on Saturday the 28th of July 2012
• One of the raiders was described as in his forties, heavy, 16 stone, tall with grey hair. The remainder are described as being in their late 20’s or early 30’s, slightly smaller than the first raider.
• The safe stolen during this incident was recovered on the 6th of August on the Callen Road, Kilkenny.
• Gardaí are appealing to anyone with information in relation to this incident to come forward.
The Commissioner of An Garda Síochána, Martin Callinan was in studio to reflect on 2012, and to offer advice and reassurance to the public on a variety of matters, including Burglaries, grow houses and Operation Fiaclá. Commissioner Callinan also discussed the closure of Garda Stations, the new working roster system introduced earlier in the year and the reduction in road fatalities and he concluded with advice to the public over the Christmas period.
The Gardaí at Mayorstone Garda Station are re-appealing for information in relation to the murder of 39 year old Sean Poland in his home in Blackwater, Co. Limerick on New Years Eve in 2002.
Sean was out socialising with his partner at the Round House Pub, High Street, Limerick, celebrating New Year’s Eve. They left the pub just after 11pm and headed home. Sean’s partner set a fire in the living room while Sean made some food in the kitchen. As they were settling in for the night, the doorbell rang. Sean went to answer the door thinking it was neighbours calling to wish them a Happy New Year.
As Sean opened the front door, four masked and armed raiders rushed through the door. Two of the raiders ran towards the living room and grabbed Sean’s partner. They ordered her to kneel on the floor and told her to put her hands behind her back. The raiders demanded to know where the money was.
She heard a shot coming from the hallway, the raiders tied her hands together with a cable from the television. They stole a sum of money from her handbag and fled from the house.
Sean’s partner discovered him in the hallway, with a gunshot wound to his stomach, he was not breathing.
Appeal:
• Gardaí are appealing to anyone who has information that may assist them in their investigation to come forward.
The Gardaí at Coolock Garda Station are appealing for information in relation to the murder of Shane O’Connor. This murder happened on the Sunday of the October Bank Holiday Weekend. Shane O’Connor was in town with a friend, they took the last Dart out from the city centre to Kilbarrack where he went to a party on Swans Nest Avenue. Afterwards, at around 3:00-3:15am (29th October, 2012), Shane O’Connor was involved in an altercation at the junction of Swans Nest Avenue and St. Donagh’s Park.
Another altercation took place at around 04:00am, on St. Donagh’s Road. Shane O’Connor was stabbed and he died on that street some time later.
Member I/C Detective Inspector Gus Keane, Coolock Garda Station
The Gardaí at Dun Laoghaire Garda Station are investigating the discovery of a fraudulent credit card skimming device found on a ticket vending machine at Booterstown Dart Station on the 7th November 2012.
Four males entered the Dart Station at approximately 6.55am. One male suspect distracted the cashier while the other three suspects gathered together around the ticket machine. One of the males fixed the device to the machine. The entire incident lasts about four minutes. Two more similar incidents occurred in Castleknock train station and Dun Laoghaire Dart Station.
Detective Sergeant Matt Sheridan was in studio to discuss this matter and offer advice to the public in relation to it.
On the 30th of September 2004, a young student was sexually assaulted at Lough Atalia, Galway. The young student was making her way to a friends house and took a shortcut behind the Huntsman Public House on the Dublin Road at Lough Atalia. As she walked through the pathway, a male approached her and grabbed her. He threatened her with a screwdriver and subjected her to a harrowing sexual assault.
The woman provided a detailed witness statement to investigating Gardaí which was vital to their investigation at the time. They recovered several items at the scene belonging to the victim and a possible suspect, however the real breakthrough came however the following day when a council worker in a local cemetery found a pair of jeans and a jumper, placed on the side of a skip. The council worker was aware of the sexual assault that had occurred the previous night and immediately contacted the Gardaí.
The items seized at the scene of the assault and the clothing found in the cemetery were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for DNA Analysis. A DNA Profile was created for a possible suspect from the samples obtained on the clothing found in the cemetery and this profile was generated through Interpol to the UK DNA Database. A positive match was found for a male who had been arrested in the UK for a minor road traffic matter. This male was known to the Gardaí in Galway, extensive investigations followed and he was subsequently arrested on the 30th December 2004 in Portlaoise. He pleaded guilty to Aggravated Sexual Assault and was sentenced to eleven years in prison.
We highlight the investigation techniques used by the investigating Gardaí in this case and highlight the work of the Forensic Science Laboratory.
Member I/C Inspector Mick Coppinger Galway Garda Station
Further to a previous appeal, Gardaí wish to warn members of the public of the dangers of selling vehicles privately AND accepting bank drafts as payment.
FRAUDSTERS are targeting individual sellers and buying their cars using counterfeit bank drafts. The car is immediately sold for cash, to innocent purchasers.
Gardaí wish to warn members of the public against the dangers of this. For the SELLER of a vehicle, some tell tale signs to look out for is that FRAUSTERS will never actually view your vehicle which he is proposing to buy. They will drag out the negotiations for almost a week or longer. (This is so as to give him time to find a buyer for the vehicle). They will insist on paying via bank draft and most likely he will insist on the transaction taking place on a Thursday evening or Friday. The reason for this is that by the time the SELLER lodges the bank draft and it is discovered to be counterfeit, the vehicle will already have been sold on to an innocent PURCHASER.
And for the innocent PURCHASER the main warning is that the vehicle will be offered at well below its market value. The FRAUDSTERS will suggest that the vehicle is a repossessed vehicle, hence the low price AND he will insist on being paid in cash. At no time will the new PURCHASER ever get to meet the individual who is now supposedly selling the vehicle.
This SCAM is ongoing now since last year and it is believed that FRAUDSTERS have netted over €300,000 to date.
Our main appeal is to potential sellers of vehicles and indeed property in general. Please be aware when accepting bank drafts as payment. A number of bogus bank drafts are in circulation and are of good enough quality to deceive the unsuspecting punter. Should you wish to accept a draft from someone as payment, please insist on getting the draft details first and then contact the relevant bank or financial institution to confirm the authenticity of said draft.
Unfortunately, since the last appeal more than 20 vehicle have been ‘bought’ with bogus bank drafts and sold on immediately with a cumulative loss of more than €200,000 in the last 12 months.
Member I/C D/Garda Maria Flynn, Stolen Motor Investigation Vehicle Unit