Two young Cork men charged in connection with ramming of patrol car that injured garda

They are accused of being passengers in the vehicle a short time earlier

Cork District Court heard that after gardaí parked their patrol car in front of a vehicle, the driver of the vehicle 'reversed, hitting the wall and drove at the parked unmarked patrol vehicle smashing into it causing the vehicle to strike a Garda'.

A stolen Volvo car rammed a garda car colliding with and injuring one member of An Garda Síochána and on Tuesday two young men accused of being passengers in the vehicle a short time earlier were arrested and brought before Cork District Court.

Garda Niall McCarthy objected to bail being granted to the two accused, one of the grounds being the seriousness of the case.

“It is alleged that on June 22 gardaí received information that a 222-registered black Volvo XC90 was the subject of an unauthorised taking during a burglary in Douglas.

“Later in the day, Detective Garda David Hickey who was off-duty in the Glanmire Business Park, saw the car with a number of males inside. Gardaí were alerted. 

"On arrival at the scene they observed the vehicle parked with two males in the front seats. Gardaí parked in front of the vehicle and approached the vehicle at the driver’s side.

“The driver reversed, hitting the wall and drove at the parked unmarked patrol vehicle smashing into it causing the vehicle to strike Garda Clare McCarthy, injuring her. The vehicle made good its escape after ramming a civilian van and another Garda car. 

“While at the scene two males were observed and identified by Detective Garda Hickey of Bishopstown Garda Station as two males who had exited the rear seats of the stolen Volvo prior to the arrival of gardaí.” 

Garda McCarthy said the two arrested men were 20-year-old Deon Stark of 4 Mount St. Joseph’s Heights, Bakers Road, Cork, and 18-year-old Dean Heaphy of 23 Churchfield Terrace East, Churchfield.

Each of them was charged that on June 22 at Glanmire Business Park, being a person who knew a car was taken possession of without the consent of the owner, did allow himself to be carried.

Bail application

While only charged with this offence it was alleged during the bail objection that they tried to buy new number plates for the stolen car using false details at a nearby autofactors.

Despite garda objections to bail, Judge Valerie Corcoran granted bail in both cases, cognisant of the fact that each young defendant was without the benefit of free legal aid because of the withdrawal of services by solicitors in a dispute with the minister for justice over proposed changes to free legal aid payments.

They were remanded on bail on condition that they would each reside at their home address, sign daily at the local garda station, commit no offences, keep a nightly 11pm to 7am curfew, be contactable on a mobile phone by gardaí at all times, stay out of Glanmire and have no contact with other parties to the case.

When Judge Corcoran called Dean Heaphy to the witness box to be asked if he would comply with the various conditions of bail, the judge said she would not permit cross-examination by the prosecution because of the circumstances where he was without legal representation.

In order to keep the defendants apart from each other — which is one of the bail conditions — Judge Corcoran adjourned the case against Stark to July 6 and Heaphy’s case to July 7.