Two men and a woman, all from Dublin, and a third man from Derry, appeared before Derry Magistrates' Court yesterday morning after they were arrested following a five-hour siege outside a bed and breakfast in the Duncreggan Road area of Derry on Monday.
Mr Patrick Pierce McCrossan (27), of Crawford Square, Derry, is jointly charged with Mr Paul Dempsey (20), of Sheephill Green, Blanchardstown, Dublin, and Mr David Aidan Earls (21), of Wellview Avenue, Dublin, with the armed robbery of £5,000 from the Pennyburn Credit Union in Derry.
All three are also jointly charged with breaking into a solicitor's office in Derry and stealing a mobile phone and £20.
Mr Dempsey and Mr Earls are further charged with breaking into a house in Derry's Rossnagalliagh Park and stealing a Renault Scenic car, two sets of car keys and a mobile phone.
Mr Dempsey is additionally charged with hijacking a lorry and with imprisoning the lorry driver, Mr Joseph Martin Coyle, against his will.
The charges against the three defendants were alleged to have occurred in Derry last Monday.
All three were remanded in custody until August 15th when they will appear before the court via a video link.
None of the three defendants applied for bail.
Meanwhile, Ms Frances Veronica Sugg, a 19-year-old student from Carduff Place, Dublin, was charged with handling a sum of money, knowing it to have been stolen.
She is alleged to have committed the offence on July 20th.
Det Const Keith Allen told Resident Magistrate Mrs Bernadette Kelly that in answer to his charges, Mr McCrossan replied "no" and "definitely not guilty".
The witness said Mr Earls made no comment when charged with his three offences.
Mr Dempsey made no reply to all five charges, Det Const Allen told the court.
Det Const Allen said Ms Sugg replied "not guilty" to her charge.
The magistrate, Mrs Kelly, rejected Ms Sugg's bail application.
She said she was "not entirely confident" that Ms Sugg, if released on bail, would return to the jurisdiction to attend her trial.
The magistrate remanded Ms Sugg in custody to appear next before Derry Magistrates' Court on August 1st.