HANDCUFFED and lying face down on his kitchen floor, Ger Garvey was told he would have his head blown off; his daughter would be killed and he would never see his children again unless he handed over cash to the four armed raiders who forced their way into his home.
The evidence was heard at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court this week when two of the four raiders were sentenced for their roles in the aggravated burglary of Sunville House near the county Limerick village of Pallasgreen and the false imprisonment of the Garvey family on April 16, 2012.
Christopher Stokes (42) with an address at Knocknaheeny in Cork pleaded guilty to both charges while John Cahill of Hill View, Doon, admitted his role in the aggravated burglary and setting fire to the stolen getaway car.
Prosecuting counsel Michael Collins said that shortly after 9:30pm on the night in question, Mr Garvey was at home with his wife Ann; their children, twins Gordon and Grace and younger twins, Gillian and Graham when he heard two loud bangs as four masked men burst through a patio window.
Armed with a sawn off shotgun, a sledge hammer and a baseball bat, the menrestrained 54-year-old Mr Garvey by ordering him to lie face down on the kitchen floor before handcuffing his hands behind his back.
During the ordeal, that Mr Garvey said changed the lives of his family forever, the raiders constantly shouted threats and demanded cash and the keys to the safe.
One of the raiders used cable ties to tie the hands of his then 16 year-old daughter, Grace.
Graham, then 14, ran upstairs to alert his mother who was taking a bath and his twin sister Gillian followed him into the bathroom. Two of the masked raiders followed them and continued demanding money.
The court was told that throughout the ordeal, the violent threats continued as Mrs Garvey pretended to search for a key to the safe.
After threatening to kill her daughter, the two raiders took $3,000 in cash from the safe as well as a quantity of sterling.
Graham was punched in the face by Stokes who was carrying a baseball bat, before being pinned to the ground with Stokes standing on his shoulder. He said he would crack the 14 year-old’s skull if he didn’t hand over the keys of the safe.
In his victim impact statement, Mr Garvey, who is a Limerick Regeneration community development manager in St Mary’s Park, said that “the lives of our family were changed dramatically as a result of a frightening aggravated burglary at our home”.
“As a result of this horrible event, all of us feel constantly edgy and fearful even within the confines of our house”, he said.
He added that loud noises or normal everyday occurrences like a knock on the door sparked fear among them. They lock all doors and none of the children go outside once dusk appears.
He said that both they and their neighbours were afraid that similar attacks might occur.
Gillian told her counsellors that she fears someone is still watching her while Graham said that when he comes into the house, he immediately runs upstairs because he thinks someone is going to run up after him. He said that he has nightmares of the event.
Judge Carroll Moran adjourned the passing of sentence until June 16 .
