A 16-YEAR-OLD boy facing robbery and theft charges has been banned from wearing hoodies (hooded tops) after a court heard he uses them like a balaclava mask.
The teenager appeared at the Children’s Court charged with the theft of a woman’s handbag on Mary Street, in central Dublin, on April 19th.
Garda Philip Earl told Judge Heather Perrin the boy and another youth took part in “a handbag snatch”.
The teenager also faced a separate charge relating to a street robbery in Dublin city centre, on April 23rd, but directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions were not available yet.
He already had a number of bail conditions including a curfew to be at his home from 6pm to 8am daily, the court heard. The teenager agreed he had broken this condition on three occasions because he got “bored”.
Garda Earl asked for an extra bail condition to ban the boy from wearing hoodies. He said every incident the boy took part in “involved him wearing a hooded top as a disguise . . . He is using it as a balaclava basically.”
Defence solicitor Adrian Lennon told the court that hooded tops along with tracksuit bottoms and trainers were “standard issue” among his client’s peer group.
However, the teenager agreed to the hoodie ban which Judge Perrin said was a “noble, gracious” decision. The judge remanded him on bail to appear again next month. He was also ordered to stay away from several areas in north inner city Dublin and a number of youths who live there.