Teenager Accused Of Threat To 'Crack' Sick Pensioner's Skull In Westmeath Granted Bail

The teenager is yet to enter a plea and faces his next hearing at Athlone District Court in September.

A teenager allegedly armed with a hatchet when he threatened to "crack" an elderly woman's skull due to her son's €50 drug debt has been granted bail.

The "somewhat out of control" youth, now 16 but aged 15 at the time of the alleged incident in Athlone, Co Westmeath, on August 13, is accused of aggravated burglary and other offences on the same date.

The teenager, who cannot be named because he is a juvenile, had no previous convictions and had been refused bail earlier this month by the District Court.

However, that decision was appealed to the High Court before Mr Justice Mícheál P. O'Higgins on Thursday.

The application faced objections. Garda Gavin Conway agreed with Niamh Barry BL, for the State, that he still feared witness intimidation.

The victim, a 70-year-old pensioner suffering from pulmonary heart failure, participated remotely to give evidence, joined by her daughter, and expressed dread that the accused would return to her home in Clonbrusk, Athlone.

It was alleged that during the incident, the teenager told the woman, "I will crack your skull."

Furthermore, it was claimed he threatened that if she did not pay her son's drug debt, he would target her daughter.

The victim also gave evidence, telling the court, "I am afraid".

She maintained that the teenager used a hatchet to wreck her front door, causing €600 worth of damage, and she expressed fears he would return to the area and she would not have enough time to alert gardaí.

The teenager was also identified on CCTV using the hatchet to smash the lights of the daughter's car.

The court was told the episode stemmed from an alleged dispute over a claimed €50 drug debt involving the elderly woman's son.

The youth is also charged with burglary of a shop in the town on the same date.

The bail hearing was also told he had been "immersed" in drug use for the past year. While he had been provided with care accommodation in the past at other locations, he had left six placements 60 times.

The bail hearing was told the teen maintained his own father had a €50,000 drug debt, and he was helping to pay it back. However, Garda Conway did not accept that account.

Pleading for bail, defence counsel Keith Branagan assured the court that alternative accommodation with support staff and in a different county was available to the teenager. He submitted that this arrangement would provide an "early warning system" should the youth leave the property, ensuring authorities would be alerted immediately.

In his ruling, Mr Justice O'Higgins remarked that people are entitled to feel safe in their homes and not be subjected to outrageous attacks, particularly involving a person armed with a hatchet. He described the case as extremely serious and noted that the boy had been somewhat out of control.

However, weighing the seriousness of the charge, the strength of the evidence, and the proposed terms, the judge said he had been just about persuaded that bail, subject to a range of strict conditions, was appropriate. The teenager was released from the Oberstown Children Detention Campus, and warned to obey the terms, which include a ban on leaving his accommodation unaccompanied.

The teen, who has yet to enter a plea, will face his next hearing at Athlone District Court on September 9, where directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions will be conveyed.