Court Briefs

Rialto man to be sentenced for manslaughter

A RIALTO man who pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to the manslaughter of a youth will be sentenced on March 27.

Stephen McNeil (22) of St James's Walk, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Liam Thompson (20), following an incident on Dolphin Road, Rialto, on January 26, 1999. The Court heard that McNeil confessed to gardai and admitted remorse for what he had done. A friend of McNeil's repeatedly stabbed Thompson in the chest with a steak knife, after McNeil had shouted "stab the b*****d." Thompson had been returning with three relatives from his grandfather's funeral when they were confronted by McNeil's friend. A fight broke out and McNeil returned to his house, collected a steak knife and gave it to his friend. As the three men continued to walk, McNeil and his friend followed them. When they caught up with the mourners from the funeral, they stabbed Thompson and immediately fled the scene.

Counsel for McNeil, Mr Patrick Gageby, said it was a tragic case and that his client was a responsible person who wanted to support his six-week-old child. Mr Justice Patrick Smith remanded McNeil on continuing bail.

 

Man tied up girlfriend against her will

A man who detained his girlfriend and two of her friends against their will in a flat, has been jailed for five years at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

John Scott, 27, of Fatima Mansions, tied up his girlfriend and forced her to stay the night in his flat following a row they had had about a message on her mobile phone on February 28, 2000. The following morning, his girlfriend managed to escape. Scott went to her former place of residence in the inner city where he then detained two of her friends. He held a knife to one woman's throat and threatened to kill her unless she phoned his girlfriend's place of work.

On receiving the phone call a colleague noticed that the girl was distressed and contacted gardai. Scott was arrested and pleaded guilty to three counts of false imprisonment. Four other charges were also taken into consideration by the court. Counsel for Scott, Mr Patrick Marrinan, said his client had no previous history of violent behaviour and he had not inflicted any physical injuries on his victims.

However, Judge Elizabeth Dunne said that the three women had been put through "an extraordinary and terribly frightening ordeal".