A 44-year-old man has been remanded in custody after being charged in connection with the taking of a car in Co Cork and the hijacking of another car at knifepoint in Co Tipperary at the weekend.
Pzemyslaw Lipiec, formerly of The Crescent, Mill Road, Millbrook, Midleton Co Cork, was brought before Midleton District Court on Thursday. He was charged with a total of six offences.
Mr Lipiec, a Polish national, who was assisted in court by an interpreter, was charged with criminal damage to a door at the Circle K Garage, Cork Road, Midleton on November 1st.
He was also charged with robbery and the unauthorised taking of a red Nissan Note car without the consent of the owner from the Circle K Garage in Midleton on the following day, November 2nd.
READ MORE
He was charged with robbery, the unauthorised taking of a navy Kia Sorento car without the consent of the owner and producing a knife at Main Street, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, on the same date.
Sgt Linda O’Leary said gardaí were objecting to bail and Det Garda Oliver Hennelly of Nenagh Garda station outlined the grounds for the Garda objection, including the seriousness of the charges.
He said gardaí were further opposing bail for Mr Lipiec on the basis of the strength of the evidence against him and the fear that he was a flight risk and would abscond.
Det Garda Hennelly gave an outline of the alleged facts of the case, including that they had CCTV footage of Mr Lipiec kicking a door at the Circle K garage on November 1st.
He said gardaí would say Mr Lipiec went back to the Circle K garage at about 9.20am the next day, but was recognised by the manager from CCTV footage of the previous night’s incident.
He was asked to leave by the manager and went to a red Nissan Note that was at one of the pumps, angrily ordered a passenger in the car to get out, got in and drove off.
Det Garda Hennelly said the entire incident was captured on CCTV, and that when he was arrested and questioned, Mr Lipiec admitted he was the person captured on the security camera footage.
He said gardaí would allege that Mr Lipiec drove the stolen Nissan Note to Roscrea, Co Tipperary, where, at 5.10pm, he approached the owner of a navy Kia Sorento on Main Street.
He said gardaí would allege that Mr Lipiec produced a large knife with a nine-inch blade and demanded in an aggressive and threatening manner that the man hand over the car keys.
He said the man got out of the car and handed over the keys, whereupon Mr Lipiec demanded he hand over his wallet, but the man had no wallet, so Mr Lipiec got into the car and drove off at speed.
Det Garda Hennelly said gardaí had obtained CCTV footage of Mr Lipiec parking the stolen Nissan Note just 50 yards from where the Kia Sorento was hijacked a few minutes later.
He said gardaí were concerned, given the threat of violence used in the commission of the offences, that Mr Lipiec would commit further offences if he was granted bail.
He said gardaí had learned that Mr Lipiec had applied for a Polish passport and had sought to evade gardaí since the incidents, and they feared he would abscond if granted bail.
Defence solicitor Simon Kelly said his client was somebody who had never been in trouble before “this blip”, had co-operated with gardaí and was deeply remorseful for his actions.
However, Judge Colm Roberts said he did not believe Mr Lipiec’s offending, as outlined by Det Garda Hennelly, could be described as “a blip”. He agreed with the garda it was more of “a spree”.
He said he had serious concerns that Mr Lipiec might commit further crime if granted bail, while he also accepted Garda evidence that he was a flight risk, and he refused him bail.
He remanded Mr Lipiec in custody to appear again at Mallow District Court on November 11th and directed he receive any necessary help from the psychiatric team at Cork Prison while on remand.
