Andrew Carey
THE quick thinking of a Garda led to the arrest of a man who robbed a Ladbrokes betting shop in Limerick, a court has heard.
Willie O’Dwyer (28), was found in a room of a supported living hostel in Limerick with a bag of cash spread on a bed as he changed his clothes minutes after fleeing the Cecil Street betting shop he had just robbed.
Limerick Circuit Court heard that O’Dwyer entered the Limerick betting shop at 6:30pm and as he approached the counter demanded that the staff members open the till.
He pulled a makeshift knife from his pocket and jumped the counter.
Traumatised by the events, the staff retreated to a back room and O’Dwyer stole €810 cash from the till and demanded that the two men come out from the back room they had locked themselves in to.
As Gardaí were alerted, O’Dwyer, who has 98 previous convictions including serious offences for robbery and the production of firearms, fled the scene on a bicycle cycling through laneways of Limerick city towards the hostel he was staying in on Alphonsus Street.
Garda Enda Clifford, attached to the nearby Henry Street garda station, was the first garda on scene and the court heard that he followed a “hunch” and went to McGarry House where he found the accused in his room changing his clothes with a bag of cash emptied on the bed.
A Ladbrokes results docket which was in the till was also found with the cash in the room.
The court heard that CCTV footage showed the incident but that ultimately the “quick thinking” of Garda Clifford was credited for the apprehension leading to the prosecution.
Judge Tom O’Donnell adjourned the sentencing to May 10 next and remanded the defendant in continuing custody.
