A judge has refused to throw out a phone theft case brought against a Dublin man who the court heard is experiencing huge personal security difficulties.
Ross Hutch (24), who won €33,000 in cash and prizes on RTÉ's Winning Streak last year, is accused of stealing a man's iPhone worth €875 at Marino Mart on Sunday.
Garda Sharon Kavanagh told Judge Anthony Halpin at Dublin District Court on Monday that Mr Hutch, of Portland Place, Dublin 1, made no reply when he was charged.
Judge Halpin was asked to throw out the case, with defence solicitor Declan Fahy arguing the court should make “no order”.
He said the legislation under which Mr Hutch was charged stated he should have been brought before the next court sitting and had his case called before noon but it was not heard until 2.15 pm. The judge was told the charge sheet was lodged in court at 10.10am.
Judge Halpin said he understood the law stated the accused must “as practicable” be brought before the next sitting of the court but he refused the defence application. He said the court was dealing with quite a number of custody cases and prison officers were only able to bring up three or four people at a time to the courtroom.
‘Excessive’ curfew
The judge agreed to bail and to impose a condition sought by the Garda barring Mr Hutch from the Clontarf, Fairview and Marino areas. A request to order him to obey a curfew was “a little excessive”, he said.
In relation to an application for him to sign on regularly at a Garda station, the defence said that Mr Hutch has “huge personal security difficulties”.
Judge Halpin agreed that ordering him to sign on may well jeopardise his security and he refused to make that a condition of bail.
Mr Hutch was ordered to appear in court again in the new year and was granted free legal aid as he is not working at present.