A man who decided to take a walk along a scenic location in Ratoath “feared for my life” after being set upon by two balaclava-wearing men who robbed him, a court has been told. One of the men, Mikolaj Kawalec (20) with an address at Milltown Meadows, Ashbourne was charged that on 1 st June 2024 at River Walk Ratoath he robbed a man of a Samsung Galaxy phone, a Casio watch, and a wallet containing a €50 note, IBT Cert, driving licence, PTS debit card and a Leap card to the total value of €500.
Garda Byrne said that he was on patrol when he saw a man in black running towards his vehicle. There was blood coming from his mouth and he had a cut on his lip. He had told him that two men had robbed him. He had told him that he was walking down by the river when he saw the two men. The Garda said he took photographs of the man’s injuries.
The victim told the court that “I was in fear for my life. I didn’t know what was going to happen”. He didn’t know either of the people who had accosted him. After they had robbed him they had left and he felt “a bit dizzy”. The men had run off and taken off the balaclavas. He followed them. The Gardai were passing and he flagged them down.
Judge Eirinn McKiernan said “This was a very traumatic incident for you”. The court was told that defendant had no previous convictions. Defending barrister James O’Brien said that this was obviously a very serious incident and he would not try to minimise it. He had €300 in court by way of compensation and would come up with more than that. He asked the judge to consider preparation of a probation report on his client.
The judge replied that she was not sure what a probation report would do. What had happened to the victim was a person’s worst nightmare and was a very serious case. She sentenced defendant to four months imprisonment.
