Man raided Cork post offices with a knife to pay off debt from visiting fiancee in US

A man with no previous history of criminal behaviour put a knife to the necks of customers in two post offices as he tried to get money to pay off debts he had accrued when visiting his fiancee in the United States, a court has heard.

Fintan Tindley (49) of Loughmahon Avenue, Mahon, Cork pleaded guilty to nine separate offences arising from the robbery and attempted robbery at South Douglas Road Post Office on November 11th and November 18th 2022 and the robbery at Ballintemple Post Office on November 16th 2022.

Det Garda Kevin Motherway told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that Tindley, wearing a mask and hat, entered the South Douglas Road Post-Office on November 11th and grabbed a 72-year-old man and put a knife to his neck and demanded money from a female staff member.

“Give me the money or I will stick this in him”, he shouted at the female staff member as he held the knife to the throat of the man who feared he was going to be injured or killed before he was released after the staff member handed over €2,380 in cash and Tindley fled.

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Five days later, Tindley wearing a mask and hat entered Ballintemple Post Office and grabbed a 44-year-old woman, put a knife to her neck and demanded €15,000 from the postwoman who told him that she didn’t have that sort of money in the post-office but handed over €1,300.

On November 18th Tindley, a former HSE Home Care Assistant, went back to South Douglas Road Post Office and again wearing a mask and hat, entered the post-office, grabbed a 45-year-old woman and put a knife to her neck and again demanded €15,000 but he fled empty-handed when a staff member pressed a panic button.

Gardaí had obtained CCTV footage of Tindley taking off his mask and hat after the Ballintemple raid and were on the lookout for his gold coloured car and after he fled South Douglas Road on November 18th, Det Supt Sean Healy and Det Insp Danny Coholan spotted his car in the area.

It was spotted at a shop on the South Douglas Road approximately 200 metres from the post office and gardaí arrested Tindley and a search of the car uncovered the knife he had used in the raids hidden under the driver’s seat.

Det Garda Motherway said that Tindley made admissions on his second interview, and he broke down and became quite emotional when he was shown CCTV footage from the post-offices and learned of the impact that his actions had on the three people whom he threatened at knifepoint.

He said that Tindley was under financial pressure after taking out loans totalling €37,000 in January 2022 to travel to the United States to meet up with a woman that he had met online and he had sent €19,000 to her via Western Union, using the two post-offices he robbed to send on some of the cash.

Gardaí found a list of nine post offices in the Cork region which they believe Tindley had identified as possible targets, said Det Garda Motherway who agreed with defence counsel, Elizabeth O’Connell SC, that Tindley appeared to be under considerable stress at the time.

Det Garda Motherway said that Tindley had no previous convictions of any kind and had never come to garda attention prior to these incidents, and they were out of character for him but both his employers, the HSE and his clients all reported he changed after he returned from the United States.

The court heard victim impact statements from four of the five people caught up in the raids including the postwoman at South Douglas Road who has since given up the franchise and the two women held at knifepoint, who feared for their lives and were still suffering traumatic flashbacks.

Defence counsel, Ms O’Connell said that Tindley had written letters of apology to each of his five victims and he was genuinely remorseful for what he had done after he saw their statements and he realised the huge trauma that he had put them through by his actions.

He had been assessed by a clinical psychologist, Dr Timothy O’Higgins, who found he had a poor insight into his own psychological profile while he also exhibited signs of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder which may have been a factor in contributing to his impulsive behaviour.

Ms O’Connell said that Tindley’s offending stemmed from a mixture of mental and emotional factors – he had exhibited strong feelings of emotional attachment to his fiancee in the United States – while he also exhibited a certain naivetie and an immaturity in his response to financial stresses.

Ms O’Connell pleaded for leniency, pointing to her client’s early pleas of guilty and genuine remorse for his actions but Judge Colin Daly said that he had a lot to consider in relation to the case and he adjourned the matter until to Friday for sentence, remanding Tindley in custody until then.