Man phoned gardaí from car boot between beatings

A MAN who was thrown into the boot of a car feared for his life as he was driven to the countryside from Cork city centre and he used his mobile phone to call gardaí from the boot.

Detective Garda Cormac Crotty said Aidan Walsh, 33, who was living at O’Leary Place, Barrack Street, Cork, and originally from Carrigtwohill, pretended to be unconscious after he was beaten for a second time in a field in Inniscarra, Co Cork, after 3am on June 11, 2008.

When two of his captors talked among themselves he escaped.

“He got up and jumped through a hedge. He ran to a nearby house where he burst through the door. The owner of the house returned to find this person in his house. Such were his injuries that he thought the injured party had been involved in a traffic accident,” said Det Garda Crotty.

Mindaugas Baltaragis, aged 28, of Riverside Lodge, Watergate Street, Bandon, Co Cork, one of four Lithuanian men involved in this crime of false imprisonment and assault causing harm, was jailed for three years.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin said Walsh was lucky to escape or else the violence would have continued.

Defence barrister Sinead Behan said the defendant pleaded guilty and co-operated with the investigation. The detective said Walsh received a phone call to meet a man at 3am on St Patrick’s Street where an argument arose. Others associated with the man arrived and they all attacked Mr Walsh, put him in the boot, drove him to Inniscarra and assaulted him again.

“His attackers were looking for money for a drugs debt. The injured party said he had drugs and cash in his house. Some of the attackers left that location to go to his home,” the detective said.

Shortly afterwards Walsh managed to escape.

Ms Behan said the defendant was not one of the ones who was most heavily involved in the crime and the detective agreed.