Addict leaves women bound and gagged during 'surreal' robbery

A drug addict, who bound, gagged and strangled two women, who had previously given him food and money, during a “surreal” and “brutal” robbery has been jailed for six years.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard how Lithuanians, Rimvaldas Andrulevicius and Saulius Malinauskas walked into their neighbour's flat holding duct tape and a black scarf and told the victims: “We're going to strangle you”.

Andrulevicius (aged 45) of Charleston Road, Rathmines pleaded guilty to assaulting Nijole Navickaite and to the false imprisonment of Apolonija Vilcevska in a flat on the same road on March 12, 2011. He has previous convictions for theft.

Malinauskas (aged 30) of the same address pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment of Ms Vilcevska and to assault Ms Navickaite causing her harm. He has 17 previous convictions which include theft, public order and possession of knives.

Andrulevicius was jailed for six years last January but Malinauskas’ case was adjourned on that date to allow him be psychiatrically assessed.

Malinauskas’ defence counsel, Aileen Donnelly SC, said her client suffers from severe depression and has tried to cut himself while on remand in custody. She said he is now on medication and is remorseful for what happened.

Judge Martin Nolan jailed Malinauskas for six years today after he commented that the men were “equally culpable”.

Garda Lorna O'Connor told Mr Michael Bowman BL, prosecuting, that Andrulevicius had a drug problem and had come up with the plan to rob his next door neighbours to get money to return to Lithuania.

She said that Andrulevicius was living in a flat in the same house as the two victims and that the women had often given him food and loaned him money.

On the morning of the attack Andrulevicius asked Ms Vilcevska to come into his flat where he asked her for money. When she refused Malinauskas appeared from behind a door and the men pushed her on a bed.

They then covered her mouth with duct tape and bound her hands tightly before tying her to a radiator.

The men went across to the victim's flat and told Ms Vilcevska's flatmate Ms Navickaite: “We're going to strangle you”.

Ms Navickaite believed they were going kill her and that they had already murdered the other woman.

Andrulevicius held the victim’s hands while Malinauskas tried to put the scarf around her neck.

The victim told gardaí later that she was trying to scream but no sound would come out of her mouth.

She said she saw stars in her vision after both men hit her in the face and one of them punched her in the side with a clenched fist. At one point Andrulevicius had his hands on her neck and was strangling her.

In a victim-impact statement the women said they were in a “constant state of fear” as a result of the attack.

Judge Nolan said this was a “surreal situation” were the men had decided to deal with their financial problems by carrying out a “brutal” robbery of two women who had treated them kindly.

He said he would have sentenced Andrulevicius to 10 years imprisonment but his early guilty plea, his drug addiction at the time and the fact that he would be serving time in an Irish prison as a foreign national were all mitigating factors.

Judge Nolan said it was difficult to know what motivated the two men and said it was “an awful memory for anyone to have”.

The court heard that after being bound and gagged Ms Vilcevska was terrified and thought the men were going to inject her with drugs.

Ms Navickaite described screaming loudly and throwing objects around the room to try raise the alarm towards the end of the attack.

Ms Iseult O'Malley SC, defending Andrulevicius, said her client had worked as a carpenter during the building boom but had lost his job and developed a heroin habit.

She said that his decision to rob two ladies who were friends and who had done him favours was a sign of just “how low he had sunk”.

She said the men’s intention was to tie the women up and search the flat for money and there was never any desire to inflict gratuitous or sexual violence.

Ms O’Malley said Andrulevicius has expressed deep remorse and shame over his “despicable” crime.

Ms Donnelly said the need for money for drugs drove the men to do this and said it was her client’s intention to rob the women.