Boy (17) torched two homes and three cars in drug intimidation campaign, court told

A 17-year-old set fire to two homes, gutting a €600,000 house and targeting a family in another, and torched three cars during a drug intimidation campaign in Dublin, a court has heard.The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with arson and other offences over a 39-day period from January 24th to March 2nd last, Dublin Children’s Court heard.Garda Adrian Myers outlined the prosecution evidence during a preliminary hearing to determine the youth’s trial venue.He said arson attacks were carried out at two houses in Glenageary, both of which are deemed “no longer habitable”.READ MOREDuring an incident at Beeches Park on March 2nd, a phone call was made to the home allegedly stating that the occupant had to pay a €30,000 drug debt, Myers told Judge Paul Kelly. The teenager then set fire to the property, causing €600,000 worth of damage. The house was unoccupied at the time. The teenager collided with a truck and was taken to hospital after fleeing the scene.The court heard a family of five at Ashlawn Park was woken in the middle of the night on February 17th. A window was heard breaking and an accelerant was poured into the house before it was set on fire.Dublin Fire Brigade attended the scene at 5.20am and extinguished the fire, which caused €60,000 in damage. The occupants sustained no injuries. The woman living there allegedly recognised the teenager and it was claimed that he stated: “No doubt you’ll rat on me.”Myers alleged the teenager arrived at an underground car park at East Courtyard, Tullyvale, early on January 24th on an electric motorbike. It was the State’s case that security cameras captured him carrying a jerry can of petrol and setting a Volkswagen Golf alight. Footage showed the alleged arsonist burning the jerry can, briefly setting himself on fire, and at one point filming the blaze. The fire spread to a Honda Fit and an Austin Cooper Saloon parked nearby, causing €11,450 of damage.His phone was later recovered and geolocation data showed the boy appeared to be at the scene of the crimes. Myers said a video retrieved from the teenager’s iPhone showed him setting the car on fire while taunting the owner.Just 50 minutes after the car park fires, the boy arrived at a house at Shanganagh Cliffs armed with a hammer, where he damaged car windows, the garda said. His DNA was later recovered from broken window glass at the scene.The Director of Public Prosecutions recommended that the boy be dealt with at a higher level in the Circuit Court, which has wider sentencing powers. However, the defence pleaded, given the boy’s age, for the case to remain in the Children’s Court.Myers agreed with defence counsel Amy Hughes that the accused has had drug problems since he was 13. Counsel argued that a wider criminal organisation was behind the drug sales and orchestrating the activity, a point accepted by the garda. The court also heard that there was a background of criminality within the teenager’s family.Refusing jurisdiction, Judge Paul Kelly noted the alleged premeditation and preparation involved. While stressing that the teenager still enjoyed the presumption of innocence, he held that the case was too serious to remain in the Children’s Court. The teenager was remanded in continuing custody pending the preparation of a book of evidence and will appear again in August.