Teen to be tried in connection with stun gun attack

A youth accused of attacking two security men with an electronic stun gun was served with a book of evidence today and sent forward for trial before a judge and jury.

The 17-year-old boy had been charged at the Children's Court with possessing the weapon and producing it during the course of a dispute, in south Dublin, on a date in February last year.

However, it had been held the case was too serious to retained in the Children's Court and should be be sent forward to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, which on conviction, has wider sentencing powers.

Today the teen was served with a book of evidence, then Judge Catherine Staines made an order sending the case forward for trial.

Earlier Garda John Sharkey, of Harcourt Terrace station, had told the Children's Court that the teen and two other youths were allegedly involved in a row with two security men who had been guarding a construction site.

“The accused produced an electronic stun gun and used it on members of the security staff,” he had said adding that the weapon was “designed to incapacitate a person.”

He had said that the rectangular shaped stun gun, which was about five inches in length, discharged an electric current from two prongs at its top, and could not have been bought legally by the teen in Ireland.

He had described the stun gun as being similar to Tasers, non lethal weapons, used by security forces including the Garda Emergency Response Unit.

The two men were taken to hospital but were not left with any visible scarring or further medical problems as a result of being stunned by the boy, the court was told.

Previously, the defence had pleaded for the case to be kept in the Children's Court. The boy was aged 16 at the time and had been going through a difficult period; his mother was terminally ill and subsequently died, the court had been told.

The teenager had been abusing alcohol and had been carrying the stun gun, which he bought for €50, for his own protection, the court had also been told.

However jurisdiction was refused.