A JURY in the trial of a man charged with robbing a security van driver of a bag of birdseed was discharged this Thursday (March 12) after failing to reach an agreed verdict.
After just over three hours of deliberations, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous or majority verdict, where at least 10 jurors agreed, following a week-long trial at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court.
The accused, Wayne Williams (41), of Griffith Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston, Limerick, denied robbing Frank Butler of a bag containing birdseed, hand sanitiser, and a water condenser.
Mr Butler, who at the time was a driver with the Brinks-Mat security firm, gave evidence that, on the day, he collected cash at ticket machines located at railway stations in Limerick and Tipperary.
Mr Butler said that as he was ferrying the cash to the firm’s base in Limerick City when he pulled into a shop where he purchased birdseed, hand sanitiser, and a water condenser.
He claimed that, as he was returning to his security van in the car park of the shop, he was knocked down by a BMW car and a masked male jumped out of the vehicle and demanded he hand over cash.
Mr Butler told the court that when he told the man he did not have any cash, the man beat him with a pick axe handle and fled with the bag containing the birdseed.
It was the prosecution’s case that Mr Williams robbed Mr Butler of the items at or near the car park of the Mr Price store in Annacotty, County Limerick, on January 15, 2021.
When informed by the jury foreperson that the jury could not reach a decision on which at least 10 jurors were agreed, Judge Colin Daly discharged the jury.
Judge Daly adjourned the matter to a call over of potential and pending cases before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court in July.
Mr Williams, who was represented in court by senior counsel Lorcan Connolly, was remanded on continuing bail to re-appear before the court then.