TWO Drogheda men who falsely imprisoned teenagers and assaulted them over £600 worth of ecstasy have been remanded in custody for sentence on October 14th by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
The mother of one of the victims was also threatened that the "big boys from Dublin" would get her unless she refunded the value of the ecstasy to a man called Darren McCann. She took out a £400 bank loan but it was never paid over, Judge Kieran O'Connor heard.
Her daughter and a male friend were forced into the back of a van and assaulted by McCann and two others, Paddy Judge and Patrick J Coyle, while being interrogated about the ecstasy which had been taken from another house.
Judge (28), single and a father of one, of Ballsgrove, and Coyle (26), married and the father of three, of Marley's Court, admitted they falsely imprisoned Ms Naomi Farrell and Mr Gareth Jein on July 24th, 1994.
Coyle also pleaded guilty to demanding money with menaces from Ms Irene Farrell on or about July 24th, 1994, with intent to steal it.
Neville Heery (25), single, of Collon, Co Louth, who also admitted the false imprisonment charge, was given a one-year suspended sentence.
Judge O'Connor said he accepted the submission by the defence counsel, Mr Brendan Grogan SC, (with Mr Derek Kenneally), that Heery was in a different position to the others and had no previous convictions.
Heery's culpability was his failure as driver of the van to intervene in the actions taken by the others. He took no part in putting the victims into the van. He had been driving in Drogheda on his own business when hailed by McCann and was not part of the general enterprise.
Det Garda Maureen McFadden told Mr Fergal Foley, prosecuting, the matter began when Ms Naomi Farrell took a cache of 41 ecstasy tablets which a girl friend was minding for McCann. Ms Farrell gave it to Mr Jein who hid the drugs in a paper hag in a ditch.
The weather reduced the tablets to powder and McCann was annoyed at his loss. He decided to confront Ms Farrell. McCann, Judge and Coyle were in Heery's van when they encountered both victims at different stages of the journey.
Det Garda McFadden said the men beat them and interrogated them about the location of the ecstasy. Both victims suffered bruising, back pains and were terrified at their experiences.
Subsequently, Coyle went to Mrs Irene Farrell and demanded money to pay for the drug. He ordered her to appear in a bar the next night or "the big boys from Dublin" would get her. Nobody met her there and the £400 bank loan she arranged was never paid over.
Del Garda McFadden said Judge was unemployed and had nine previous convictions, mainly for drugs offences. He received previous sentences of from four to 13 months. Coyle was also unemployed and had 11 previous convictions for offences, including drugs, larceny and burglary.
Mr John Peart SC (with Mr Jeri Ward), for Coyle, and Mr Michael O'Higgins (with Mr Kevin Haugh SC), for Judge, requested that sentence be adjourned to October for probation reports.