Pensioner (75) tied up for 15 hours after burglary, gardaí allege

A 75-year-old man was tied up and locked in a room for 15 hours by burglars who broke into his home, gardai alleged on Tuesday.

Det Garda Sean Stack told Cork District Court that gardai were objecting to bail for accused, Angelique Arundel (34) from Shannon Lawn in Mayfield in Cork because of the seriousness of the burglary charge.

Ms Arundel is charged with entering the pensioner’s home on Blackrock Road and stealing a watch, a mobile phone, a bank card, a cash box and €15 in cash on May 1st.

Det Garda Stack said the State would allege Ms Arundel called to the man’s house during the hours of darkness, claiming to be looking for her dog but the man refused her entry.

The man returned to bed but some time later was awoken by banging and was confronted in his bedroom by a man and a woman who had gained entry by breaking a window at the rear of the house.

He said the State would allege Ms Arundel and a male co-accused broke into the house where the man hit the pensioner with a metal spirit level and demanded money before the couple stole various items .

The State would allege Ms Arundel and her co-accused then tied the pensioner to a bed and locked him in a spare bedroom where he remained until he was released by gardaí after he was found by his sister at 1pm on May 2nd.

He said that gardaí believed that there was strong evidence linking Ms Arundel to the crime including the discovery of the pensioner’s mobile phone, bank card and cash box in her house when they searched her home some days later.

He said that Ms Arundel also made certain admissions in relation to the burglary when she was questioned so gardí believed they had a strong case to link her to the charge .

He said that the State believed that Ms Arundel would seek to intimidate witnesses in the case including the 75 year old man if granted bail while they also had concerns she would commit further crime if released on bail.

He said that Ms Arundel was a self-confessed heroin addict and he believed that if she was granted bail, she would commit further burglaries and thefts in order to support her heroin addiction, he said.

Ms Arundel said that she had started taking heroin two months ago when she was involved in a car crash and her life went off the rails but she was not a heroin addict and was not on a methadone programme while on remand.

Questioned by her solicitor Donal Daly, Ms Arundel said she would never attempt to intimidate the elderly man or any other witnesses in the case and she pledged to turn up for court if granted bail.

She said she was willing to live wherever the gardaí wanted her to reside, abide by a curfew, sign on twice a day and provide daily urine samples for testing to show that she was drug free.

However Judge Olann Kelleher noted Ms Arundel had accepted what Det Garda Stack had said in evidence and he refused her bail, remanding her in custody by consent to appear again on June 16th for the DPP's directions.