A Westmeath man has been handed a five-year sentence for trying to extort €50,000 from his father by setting up what was described as a fake “tiger kidnapping”.
Liam Ward (32) with addresses at Rowan Heights, Drogheda and Meeting House Lane, Mullingar had the final two years of his sentence suspended at a sitting of Athlone Circuit Court today.
Ward -was tried and found guilty of “demanding money with menaces” from William Ward Snr at a sitting of Mullingar Circuit Court last Friday.
Outlining the state’s case ahead of sentencing, prosecution counsel John Hayden said Ward’s sister Brenda had contacted gardaí in Tallaght on February 14th, 2007.
She had been given two photographs of her brother “showing him bound and gagged and with a shotgun to his head,” Mr Hayden explained.
The pictures had been accompanied by a note claiming Mr Ward would be killed if €50,000 was not handed over for his safe return.
From the outset, gardaí were looking at two possibilities, Mr Hayden said. They thought it might be a genuine kidnapping but they also felt Ward - who was a known drug user - might have been involved.
Gardaí set up surveillance at a number of locations and observed Ward getting out of a car and paying for fuel at a filling station near Dublin airport. He did not appear to be under duress when observed and later that evening Gardaí arrested Ward along with another individual.
Liam Ward told the court he was now off drugs and doing well. He apologised to his family, the court and gardaí for all of the trouble he had caused.
A victim impact statement from Ward’s father William and sister Brenda was read out in court. His family described the events of February 14h, 2007 as a “nightmare”.
However, they said they believed “without the influence of drugs and peer pressure” in his life, he would not have acted as he did.
“We would like the court to be as lenient as possible in sentencing Liam,” they added. “At the end of the day Liam is our son, our brother.”
Judge Tony Hunt sentenced Ward to five years in prison and suspended the final two. On release he will be placed under the supervision of the probation services and bond to the peace for five years.