A man who committed an offence because of his immense fear of a violent man, has seen his case put back for a community service report.
Keith Ryan of Gainstown, Mullingar lost his job after he used his work vehicle to ferry two men to a house in Donore Drive in Multyfarnham where they smashed a car with wrenches.
Almost €8,000 worth of damages was caused to the Suzuki car and the court heard that the DPP decided there was not enough evidence to connect the other two men to the crime.
Mr Ryan had sat in his vehicle while the damage took place but he was recognised because the car had the name of the company he worked for written on the side.
He had been working for almost 10 years for the company but lost his job and his father also threw him out of the family home, Ms Patricia Cronin told the court, highlighting the consequences of the event.
When she asked Garda Beattie if her client had been acting under duress, he said he’d acted out of “immense fear”.
He said one of the other men in the vehicle was known to gardaí as someone “with a high propensity to violence” and he said that Ryan had been brave in admitting his role in the incident.
He said Ryan had been trying to fit in with the wrong crowd.
Ms Cronin said her client had accepted that the incident might not have happened if her client hadn’t accommodated the other two men.
The case was adjourned to July 23 to assess Ryan’s suitability for community service and the possibility of compensation.
