Car hijacking accused returned for trial

A teenager, who allegedly violently hijacked a car and forced a woman to drive at speed as he held an implement to her throat, all in front of her small child, has been returned for trial to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

The 17-year-old west Dublin boy is facing charges at the Children’s Court for theft of a woman’s car from the yellow car park in the Liffey Valley shopping centre and theft of a jersey from the vehicle, on March 17 last.

He is also charged that on the same day he stole another woman’s car from the purple car park in the shopping centre and stole her handbag, €150 in cash and her mobile phone.

The teen, who is in custody, was furnished with the book of evidence in the case today and Judge Bryan Smyth made an order for him to be sent forward for trial to the next term of the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

In an outline of the allegations garda Stuart Gleason said that during the incident the teen had taken control of a woman’s car in the shopping centre’s car park.

He abandoned the car soon after and then jumped in to the back seat of another woman’s car.

“He sat in the back seat beside her small child and held an implement to the woman’s throat and forced her to drive at speed,” said garda Gleason who described the alleged crime as a hijacking.

He said the teen screamed obscenities at the woman as he sat in the car’s back seat with her small child.

“He shouted: 'Keep driving!' at the woman,” the court was told.

Gardaí arrived at the shopping centre and as the car was held up in traffic the teen fled.

After hearing the summary of the prosecution’s evidence, Judge Smyth had held that the case was too serious to be dealt with in the Children’s Court.