A 13-year-old boy who was found in possession of a knife has been sent to an education and re-integration youth centre after he broke the conditions of his bail, the Galway District Court heard last week.
The troubled youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was brought before Judge Mary Fahy as he once again got into trouble with gardaí. The court heard how the teenager had been charged with two new charges before last Wednesday court sitting and his reply to one of the charges had been “what evidence?”.
The court then heard how the defendant had pleaded guilty to a plethora of offences at a previous court sitting. The charges brought against the boy now include: Possession of a knife at Castlepark on November 1, 2008; taking illegal possession of a car at St Brendan’s Avenue on October 1, 2008; the assault of two females at Fana Burca, Western Distributor Road, on February 27, 2008; theft of a lighter and sweets, worth €4, and threatening and abusive behaviour at Centra Supermarket, Forster Street, on February 8, 2008; Theft of a gent’s watch, valued €23.50, at Debenhams, Eyre Square, on December 17, 2007; and possession of an knife at Beal Srutha, Ballybane, on December 12, 2007.
Inspector Michael O’Dwyer explained that there had been a breach of bail conditions and the defendant was not attending school.
A representative of the probation services told Judge Fahy that there were concerns for the defendant as he has started “sniffing solvents”. She also said that there were questions about his safety and the safety of others.
Judge Fahy then ordered the youth to be remanded in custody until November 12, 2008, and be brought to Oberstown Boys Centre, near Lusk, Co Dublin.
