A THIEF who drank tea with a Chinese woman after terrorising her at knife-point in her apartment said that in the end he was unable to take the computer and video she offered him.
Judge Tony Hunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told that John Cash (31) of Hazlewood, Bray hugged the woman when he left her apartment two hours later and told gardaí he established “a bond” with the married woman he had held captive when he attempted to rob her.
“She sat there drinking tea with me. She didn’t ask to leave. She’s a very nice girl,” said Cash, who has pleaded guilty to a charge of false imprisonment.
Det Garda Aidan Carroll said Cash apologised profusely through gardaí to his victim for his drug-crazed actions.
He told gardaí that he wasn’t able to take the computer and video she offered him once he bonded with her. “As I got to know her, I couldn’t take them off her,” Cash told gardaí.
Det Garda Carroll told prosecuting counsel Kathleen Noctor that the woman was terrified when Cash entered her bedroom with two knives, demanding money.
He said that later the victim noticed Cash’s hands were shaking and that he seemed to be in pain.
Her terror subsided while they drank tea and talked during the experience on February 15th, 2006, which began after her husband left the front door open when he went to work about 7am.
Cash had been “shooting up” with a drugs cocktail at the apartment block and came in looking for money to buy more drugs. The woman saw a figure at her bedroom door and called out a name, thinking it was the apartment’s other occupant.
Det Garda Carroll said she heard the figure reply “yes” and shut the door only to open it again and run towards her with what she described as a “sleek” knife. She sat up in bed and saw Cash threatening her with two knives, demanding her wallet.
She explained to him that her wallet had been stolen the day before but told him to take her bag where he found €10 and loose coins and some Chinese currency in various denominations.
Det Garda Carroll said she noticed as he held one of the knives to her that his hands were shaking and he seemed angry.
She began to cry but Cash assured her he wouldn’t harm her, said Det Garda Carroll.
Cash pocketed a silver ring with fake diamonds and ordered her to put clothes on because he wanted to search the other bedroom for money.
Det Garda Carroll said Cash found a gold necklace and ring with fake diamonds in the other bedroom and went into the sitting room where he told her to make tea. She noticed as they were going into the sitting room that Cash had difficulty picking up one of the knives he dropped.
Cash looked at the photos of her family and spoke to her about his background as they sat drinking tea. Det Garda Carroll said that when Cash stood up and walked to the bathroom after drinking the tea, the woman noticed he was limping. Cash shaved and washed in the bathroom and then changed into her husband’s clothes, leaving his own on the floor.
He then hugged her when he left the apartment two hours later and claimed to gardaí after his arrest that he felt a bond with her.
Det Garda Carroll told Ms Noctor that Cash was arrested following his release two days later from Loughlinstown hospital, where he was admitted for a drug overdose. He claimed he threatened the woman with knives he found in her kitchen.
Det Garda Carroll said the father of two told gardaí he was desperate for more drugs and didn’t think there was anyone in the apartment when he entered, saying that otherwise he would have “legged it”.
Cash said he kept her captive and cut the phone line because he didn’t want her raising the alarm before he got down to the foreign exchange to convert the Chinese currency into euro.
Cash is to be sentenced at a later date.