Man jailed for 10 years over criminal gang false imprisonment

Declan Brennan and Eimear Dodd

A man has been jailed for 10 years for his involvement in the false imprisonment of another man by a criminal organisation designed “to instil terror and assert dominance”.

Gerald McCormick (39) of Castlegrange Grove, Clonee, Dublin 15 was convicted of the false imprisonment of the man at an address in Ongar, Dublin 15 on July 21, 2023. The jury also found him guilty of a separate offence of committing false imprisonment on that occasion at the direction of, for the benefit of, or in association with a criminal organisation.

McCormick has a number of previous convictions, including assault causing harm.

During the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial in June, the jury were played audio from a 999 call in which a friend of the victim described how men in balaclavas and armed with a gun had pulled the victim out of her house.

In the call, the woman said: “They are after pulling one of our friends out. They have a gun, please hurry up. My friend is after being pulled out of the house by men in balaclavas, I need someone out here now; they had balaclavas. My kids are terrified.”

“I don’t know what this is about; I don’t know who these are. I’m afraid they are going to come back.”

The victim was driven to a caravan in Clondalkin, where he was tied up, beaten and stabbed with implements including a knife and a claw hammer, Detective Garda Goretti Lynch told Diarmaid Collins, prosecuting.

McCormick faced no charges in relation to the assaults.

The court heard he was in a second car, which was present when the injured party was taken from the house.

Imposing sentence on Friday, Judge Ronan Munro noted that the prosecution’s case was that McCormick was aware that something bad was going to happen, participated in and had knowledge of the false imprisonment which was committed on behalf of a criminal organisation.

The judge said the evidence during the trial was that this group is a “significant criminal organisation” with the Garda adopting a role to disrupt and dismantle its activities, which include the importation and distribution of drugs.

Judge Munro noted evidence that this group’s activities include “the use of violence against rivals or persons who fell foul” of the organisation.

The victim did not give evidence during McCormick’s trial and did not provide a victim impact statement.

Judge Munro said while there was no impact statement, the court could infer that the victim would have been “profoundly affected” physically and mentally.

He noted that McCormick faced no charge in relation to the violence meted out to the injured party, but said it formed part of the context for the false imprisonment.

The judge noted McCormick’s previous offending and that there was a 13-year period during which he had no recorded convictions.

But the judge noted that McCormick had “left prison early and was on the run” and “this foray into normal life was built on an evasion”.

Judge Munro said it was aggravating that the injured party was kidnapped then tortured.

He said this incident was “clearly designed to intimidate, and its purpose can only have been to instil terror and assert dominance”.

He noted that others witnessed what happened, and it would have been “a terrifying thing” to see.

The judge said this was a “grave” incident of false imprisonment, noting that “masked men” came to the door and took the injured party out of a house in broad daylight in front of people.

Judge Munro said it was a “significant” aggravating factor that McCormick committed this offence for the benefit of a criminal group which “deals in terror among other things”.

“He wasn’t the person dragging [the injured party] out of the house, and it seems his role was essentially one of supervision and reporting."

The judge noted that McCormick was in the second car, which meant those in the house could see two cars, adding to “the overall effect of intimidation and dominance”.

“The jury have found he did this in the knowledge of what was going on, despite his story of looking for his son,” the judge said.

The judge said there was “little” mitigation but said he would give “limited” credit for the conduct of the defence during the trial and for McCormick’s personal circumstances. However, he noted that the “fear during this trial process for some witnesses was palpable”.

Timothy O’Leary SC, defending, said his client absolutely and unreservedly regrets what happened to the victim in this case. He submitted that his client was not charged with any assaults and that the victim “was whisked” away.

Counsel said his client had lived in the UK for a number of years, where he worked for the Royal Mail. He said when a friend of his died, McCormick “went off the rails with drink.”

The judge imposed a sentence of 10 years, backdated to when McCormick went into custody.

Judge Munro said there was no basis on which the court could suspend any portion of the sentence.

He commended the gardaí for “their rapid detection of this crime and apprehension” of the offenders and their “highly professional investigation of a complex case”.

In March 2024, Judge Martin Nolan imposed a custodial sentence of six and a half years on McCormick’s co-accused Jamie Geoghegan (28) of Shancastle Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin.

Geoghegan had come forward on a signed guilty plea to one count of assault causing harm to the victim at an address in Ongar and one count of false imprisonment at Fonthill Cottages, Clondalkin. The court heard he had assaulted the victim before dragging him out of the house and forcing him into a waiting Jeep containing a number of other men.

The victim suffered multiple stab wounds to his right shoulder and his leg, a fracture to his tibia and cuts to his right leg. He also suffered fractures to both wrists, which necessitated wires being inserted into both hands.