by Andrew Carey
A 16 year-old boy, who went missing from HSE care for three days while on the run from gardaí, attempted another escape when he freed himself from handcuffs at Limerick District Court on Tuesday. Angry scenes followed from onlookers to the incident as the boy was being restrained.
Garda Richard Quigley and gda Joe Dooley averted the attempted flea and with the assistance of the female officers and the garda driver, the boy was apprehended and restrained before he made good any escape. Family members and friends, who had gathered outside the court, remonstrated with Gardai over the incident.
The boy, who was in court on charges of burglary and handling stolen goods, was being brought from the courthouse to a patrol car by three Gardaí when he slipped his right hand from the cuffs and attempted to run from the court complex.
He was apprehended and taken to Henry Street Garda station where he sought medical attention. When he was taken to Limerick University Hospital for x-ray, he made another unsuccessful attempt to escape his Garda escort.
The boy had been previously remanded in detention to Oberstown Boys Detention School but was turned away because of overcapacity. He spent a night in garda custody and was released to HSE care the next day by a court in Ennis.
However last week, after he handed himself into the Henry Station, the boy was remanded to Oberstown after a place became available. He was sentenced to six months detention for stealing a mobile phone last year but had gone “completely out of control” in the last number of months.
The teenager, who was homeless, faces charges of burglary and handling stolen goods last July. Judge Eugene O’Kelly adjourned the matters for one month pending the directions of the DPP. Next week the boy is facing trial at Limerick Circuit Court in connection with a more serious charge before the upper courts.
