Cork men accused of putting worker in chokehold during robbery of service station 

Men accused of taking more than €900 during robbery 

The court heard a Texaco staff member was caught in a chokehold headlock by one raider.

A member of staff at a Texaco service station in Cork was caught in a chokehold headlock by one raider as a second culprit ripped the till from the counter.

These were the allegations made by Detective Garda Eoghain O’Callaghan at Cork District Court when he objected to bail being granted to Mark Sheehan, aged 44, of Hazel Rd, Togher, Cork.

Judge Mary Dorgan granted bail on strict conditions that the accused man is to appear in court again on December 3.

No bail application was made by co-accused, Shane O’Donoghue, aged 41, of Leesdale, Model Farm Road, Cork, on the same charge of carrying out the robbery of €915 at Texaco on Model Farm Rd, Cork, on November 5. Mr O’Donoghue was remanded in custody until November 11 at Cork District Court.

During the course of the objection to bail for Mark Sheehan, Det Garda O’Callaghan described the seriousness of the allegations.

“It is alleged that at around 8.30pm on Wednesday, two men entered Texaco Service Station, Model Farm Rd, Cork. Both had their faces covered. They proceeded behind the shop counter and demanded the staff to open the tills.

“One of them then proceeded to grab one of the staff members and performed a chokehold headlock. The other male ripped the till out and put it into a bag. Both of them then left the store on foot.

“Gardai later apprehended two men nearby, trying to discard clothing. They had the same clothing as the raiders and €625 of cash was recovered from them. There is CCTV of the incident.

“Gardai are satisfied that Mark Sheehan is the male who performed the chokehold headlock on the employee and put him in fear.”