Teenager targeted in bomb attack is remanded in custody

A teenage boy, whose life is under threat and was the target of an attempted bomb attack, has been remanded in custody.

The boy, who is in his mid-teens, appeared at the Children’s Court yesterday charged with taking part in a motor theft in Dublin city on Wednesday.

Judge John Coughlan noted the teenager also has several other charges pending and gardaí were objecting to bail.

The court heard the youth had already spent a period in custody on remand last year after which he was granted conditional bail. He was barred from parts of Dublin and ordered to obey a nightly curfew.

Garda Michael Lennon told Judge Coughlan the boy had repeatedly broken the terms in recent weeks.

The court also heard that there are fears for his safety. An explosive device had been left at an address the boy was allowed to visit and it was “meant for” him, the judge also heard.

“This device was viable,” the garda said.

The teenager, who was accompanied to his hearing by family members, did not address the court. Aoife McNickle, defending, said there was no application for bail. She also said because of the threat on the boy’s life, he can no longer live with members of his family.

She asked for the HSE, which has already been involved with the teen, to be represented at the case when it resumes.

Judge Coughlan revoked the teenager’s bail and remanded him in custody to appear again next week.

He has not entered a plea to his charges and is facing a litany of allegations. Apart from the alleged motor theft on Wednesday, he is accused of knife possession; theft of an iPhone; a breach of the peace, failing to comply with a garda’s caution as well as possessing cannabis with intention of sale or supply to another.

Five more allegations emanate from incidents in Tallaght and in south Co Dublin on a single date last October. In this set of charges he is accused of: possessing tools, including screwdrivers, a chisel, a knife and a file, for use in a theft, trespassing at an address with intent to commit an offence or unlawfully interfere with property; theft of car keys and a satnav system from the same location; it is claimed he trespassed on another property nearby intending to commit a crime.