A 22-year-old man has been jailed for nine years after he subjected two students to an hour-long, terrifying ordeal where he and an accomplice threatened at knifepoint that they would cut off their fingers if they didn’t hand over cash and drugs.
Martin Ekhosuehi, of Willow Gardens, Glanmire, Co Cork, had denied charges of aggravated burglary, assault causing harm, and making threats to kill following the incident at the students’ rented accommodation on Highfield Avenue, College Road, Cork, on July 2nd, 2023.
A jury at Cork Circuit Criminal Court found Ekhosuehi guilty on all counts. He was sentenced on Wednesday to 11 years in jail with the final two years suspended by Judge Sinead Behan.
Investigating officer Det Gda Eoghain O’Callaghan had previously told the court: “At 7pm on July 2nd, 2023, two young men at Highfield Avenue, College Road, Cork, had to run to a neighbour’s house to raise the alarm. They said two men had come through the front door by force.
READ MORE
“One of them was wearing an all-black tracksuit, black ski-mask, blue latex gloves, and had a large chef’s knife with black handle. The second man was also wearing a black tracksuit, black gloves, and had a flathead screwdriver. Both were demanding money,” O’Callaghan said.
The intruders ransacked the house, demanding to know where cocaine and cash were located, the court was told.
The students were held at knifepoint and punched in the head. One raider threatened them, saying, “I will start cutting off fingers, on my mother’s life, if I don’t start finding something soon”.
“They took €30 in cash and took their phones. Both fled by the backdoor. A glove was left behind and was forensically examined and found to have a fingerprint matching Martin Ekhosuehi. He was also nominated as a suspect by two gardaí who examined CCTV,” said the detective.
O’Callaghan explained that one of the victims was on the phone to his girlfriend in Drogheda when the raid occurred. She became so concerned by background sounds and the sudden ending of the phone call that she alerted gardaí.
Gardaí arrived a short time later and knocked at the door, announcing their presence by shouting through the letterbox. Ekhosuehi and his accomplice warned the two students that they would be killed if they tried to call out or answer the door.
When the two intruders later left the premises, the gardaí were called again and they arrived to find the two students visibly shaken and with cuts to their faces. Both students described being punched and repeatedly threatened that they would be killed, and they feared for their safety.
The court heard that Ekhosuehi had 14 previous convictions, including three for having drugs for his own use, one for drug dealing, one for money laundering, two for possession of knives, and one for production of an article in the course of a dispute.
Sentencing, the judge said: “The accused had planned and premeditated this crime and did so in a manner where they (the accused and his unidentified accomplice) dressed to conceal their identity.
“They came with a purpose. The hour must have felt like an eternity. I have not had any indication of remorse or empathy with the victims,” said Behan, noting there was limited mitigation other than Ekhosuehi’s youth and the fact he had a supportive family.
She said the aggravated burglary merited a headline sentence of 12 years, but she would reduce it to 11 years and suspend the final two years in light of Ekhosuehi’s age.
