A raider held a knife to a woman's neck and threatened to cut her throat if staff in a building society did not hand over money to him, a court heard yesterday.
A raider held a knife to a woman's neck and threatened to cut her throat if staff in a building society did not hand over money to him, a court heard yesterday.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne was told in the Circuit Civil Court that a counter assistant gave the raider just under €4,000 in small amounts until he succeeded in raising the alarm.
Three women customers - Mrs Veronica Murphy, of Carndonagh Road, Donaghmede, Dublin, and her two friends, Mrs Eileen Curtis and her daughter, Ann Marie Curtis, of Meadow View Grove, Hillcrest, Lucan, Co Dublin, - sued the Irish Permanent Building Society for damages of €114,000.
However after evidence was heard the judge was told that during the lunchtime recess the three women had settled their claims for undisclosed amounts and their cases could be struck out.
Mr John Nolan, counsel for the women said that on March 14th, 2000, they had gone to the Liffey Street, Dublin, branch of the Irish Permanent Building Society.
There had been no security staff employed at the Irish Permanent branch and staff had the protection of a glass security screen.
Mr Nolan said a customer in the branch had picked up an iron stand of the type used for maintaining queues and had threatened to bludgeon the raider, which had made him more agitated and he had held the knife closer to Mrs Murphy's throat.
Mr Nolan said all three women had developed post-traumatic stress syndrome following their experience.
The raider had been dealt with in the criminal courts.
Adjournment in sex abuse case
A Roscommon man convicted of sexually abusing two girls attending his wife's crèche has had his sentencing adjourned to assess the availability of local rehabilitation programmes.
John Nally (61), of Ballybay, Kiltoon, Co Roscommon was remanded on bail at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court until July 17th. Nally was convicted last March on five charges of sexual assault involving the two girls.
Both were aged eight at the time and the offences happened at his home on dates between September 1999 and September 2000. Nally had denied all charges.
Bank raider gets four years' jail
A 30-year-old Dublin man was sentenced to four years' jail after he terrorised staff at a Cork bank with a lighter gun, taking over €3,000.
Terence Jenkins, of Ringsend, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Cork Circuit Criminal Court to robbing the Bank of Ireland at Patrick Street, Cork, on July 1st, 2002 and possessing a firearm or imitation firearm.