A man has been accused of brandishing a hammer at a shop in Celbridge, forcing the manager to open safes and stealing more than €90,000 before fleeing to Lanzarote.
Stephen McMullen (27), of Rowlagh Gardens, Clondalkin, Dublin allegedly posted videos of the cash on Snapchat with details about the raid minutes after it took place on July 17th last.
Bail was set at €3,500 when he appeared before Judge John Brennan at Dublin District Court on Monday following his arrest on Saturday.
He was charged with robbery and production of a hammer as a weapon capable of inflicting serious injury during the incident at Costcutter, Castle Village, Celbridge, Co Kildare.
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Gda Jennifer Finnegan objected to bail due to the seriousness of the case. She told Judge Brennan the incident took place shortly before 5am when two men arrived in a van which had been stolen in a burglary in Maynooth.
The manager was opening up at the time when the robbers, one armed with a hammer, allegedly threatened his life and made him open safes. . Gda Finnegan told the court Mr McMullen threatened the manager to dispose of CCTV footage.
It was claimed there was video evidence of the accused arriving home in a taxi at 8.28am carrying a Lidl bag. The court heard the money was wrapped in distinctive white bands; the injured party provided samples of them to gardaí, and they were identical to those on the recovered cash.
The money also had identifying features, such as the injured party’s writing on the notes, when he was counting them, the judge heard.
Searching Mr McMullen’s address recovered €27,870, but €63,000 has yet to be found.
Gda Finnegan said a Snapchat account on the phone posted videos of the stolen cash.. She stated there were also text messages telling his friends he got more than €90,000 in a robbery.
A day later, he flew to Lanzarote and booked a return flight to Belfast on July 27th, but that was not taken. On August 8th, he returned via England to attend his brother’s funeral.
Questioned by defence solicitor Catherine Dolan, the garda agreed that no DNA had been recovered from the cash or the hammer, but that analysis had to be carried out.
The defence disputed that the Snapchat account on the phone was linked to Mr McMullen, stressing he had the presumption of innocence and there was no forensic evidence against him.
Judge Brennan set bail in his bond of €500 but stipulated that he needed a €3,000 independent surety to be released under a range of conditions, including the surrender of his passport and a curfew.
He was remanded in custody with consent to bail and legal aid was granted.
