Bail refused for suspect in robbery of woman (78)

Eimear Cotter

A PENSIONER is recovering at home after she was left with a cracked rib and a damaged eye socket following a robbery on a Dublin street.

Patrick Kinsella (31) is charged with stealing the 78-year-old woman's handbag, mobile phone and €50 in cash.

Gardai told the court the senior citizen was in hospital for a week after the theft.

A court heard that Kinsella is charged with committing three robberies in the space of four days.

A judge refused bail and remanded the defendant in custody for four weeks.

Kinsella, of Emmet Road in Inchicore, appeared before Cloverhill District Court charged with three counts of robbery as well as handling stolen property.

He is accused of robbing the elderly woman on Drury Street in Dublin city centre on January 17 last.

Gardai claimed the woman's mobile phone was found in Kinsella's flat in Inchicore in a follow-up search.

Kinsella is also charged with robbing Brooks Hotel on Drury Street, armed with an imitation handgun, on January 20.

The third robbery charge is that Kinsella and an accomplice, both armed with knives, entered Londis on College Green on January 21, and robbed €1,200 in cash.

Garda Martin Wolf said gardai objected to bail, citing the seriousness of the robbery charges, which carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in the Circuit Court, and the strength of the evidence.

injuries

In relation to the robbery of the elderly woman, Garda Wolf claimed Kinsella robbed her handbag while she was walking down the street with friends.

The garda claimed the pensioner sustained a number of serious injuries during the robbery, including a cracked rib and cuts to her face which required six stitches.

Kinsella was remanded in custody for four weeks.

hnews@herald.ie