Thirteen-year-old boy robbed €250 jacket from another boy at knifepoint, Ennis court told
Asked where the jacket is now, the accused told the court “I lost it.”
A 13-year old boy had a €250 jacket robbed from him at knifepoint by another 13 year old at the Fairgreen in Ennis two years ago, a court has heard.
At Ennis District Court, Judge Alec Gabbett said that the accused - now aged 16 - "had committed armed robbery when aged 13 and he was barely at the age of criminal responsibility”.
In the case, the teenager has pleaded guilty to robbing another male of a black padded Moncler jacket valued at €250 at Fairgreen, Lifford, Ennis at around 6pm on February 26th 2022.
The offence is contrary to Section 14 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001.
The Ennis teenager has also pleaded guilty to while committing the robbery at the Fairgreen did produce a orange flick knife which was capable of inflicting serious injury and produced in a manner unlawfully to intimidate another.
This offence was contrary to Section 11 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act.
Asked where the jacket is now, the teenager told Judge Gabbett “I lost it”.
In evidence, Garda Roisin Collins said that the then 13 year old held the knife up to the chest of the boy.
A Garda search of the boy’s home recovered the knife from that property.
Judge Gabbett said that the robbing with a knife offence is so serious that when holding the knife to the victim’s chest “it could have gone through”.
He told the teenager that sending him to Oberstown Detention facility would be a last resort and that he didn’t want to send the teenager to Oberstown.
Garda Collins said that when the accused was initially questioned on the robbery he told Gardai “I did not have a knife”.
The accused has no previous convictions but had been through the Garda Youth Diversion Programme.
Solicitor, Monica Roche for the teenager, told the court that her client hasn’t been in any trouble since the incident before the court.
She said that he has worked with the Extern Janus Justice Project.
The project provides an intensive individualised programme concentrating on development of pro-social skills, improved community involvement, provision of experiential learning opportunities, and family work to improve relationships within the home.
The teenager - accompanied by an aunt to court -also told Judge Gabbett that he is taking medication for ADHD and would like to enter a Youthreach programme.
Judge Gabbett adjourned the case for a Probation Report to June 26th.