Man charged with false imprisonment of judge at family law court in Dublin

A man has been charged with false imprisonment of a judge in connection with a hoax gun scare at a family law court in Dublin.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been returned for trial.

Judge Susan Ryan of the Circuit Court was presiding at the Phoenix House courts building in Smithfield in Dublin when it had to be evacuated due to a security alert at around 11.30am on December 20th last.

Armed gardaí and a bomb disposal team were called in to deal with the incident, which ended peacefully. A man in his mid-40s was arrested and taken to the Bridewell Garda station.

He appeared at Dublin District Court two days later charged with the false imprisonment of two women involved in legal proceedings and one count of threatening to kill or cause serious harm. He was then refused bail.

In January he was further charged with unlawful possession of an imitation gun in connection with the incident.

The defendant made his seventh court appearance when he appeared again at Cloverhill District Court on Thursday. An additional charge was brought against him for false imprisonment of Judge Ryan in connection with the incident at Phoenix House.

The Director of Public Prosecutions directed trial on indictment on all charges, Judge Victor Blake noted on Thursday.

The defendant has not yet indicated how he will plead and there was no application for bail. He was sent forward for trial in custody to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his next hearing on April 5th.