Man (48) found guilty of arson and endangerment at Roscommon petrol station

A 48-year-old Roscommon man has been convicted of arson and endangerment at a filling station in Roscommon Town in the early hours of Christmas Eve 2023. He has also been convicted of possession of five petrol bombs with the intention of causing criminal damage, and the theft of petrol.

The jury of eight men and four women at Roscommon Circuit Court, today, Thursday, returned a unanimous verdict on eight counts after deliberations of two hours and six minutes following a three-day trial.

One of the counts, a criminal damage count, was returned as not guilty by direction of the trial judge, as Judge Kenneth Connolly felt the wording was not precise.

Martin Mullooly, with a former address at Apt 2, 1 Church Street, Roscommon Town, was remanded in custody until October 7th following the verdict. He had pleaded not guilty to arson and causing endangerment to the lives and safety of members of the public at Casey’s Londis, and the possession of five petrol bombs at his address. He was also charged with theft of €8 worth of petrol from the business, which he denied. The court was told he had a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia for approximately 30 years and was on antipsychotic medication.

During the trial, CCTV of the incident showed a man, who the state argued was the accused, approaching pumps 7 and 8 from the Athlone Road Roundabout at around 4.20 a.m.. The man was wearing a baseball cap, navy jacket, dark trousers with a white belt, and black shoes, which the state argued were later recovered in the accused’s apartment.

The man was seen filling a water bottle with petrol before pouring the contents of it on the pump’s pipes and the forecourt’s ground. The bottle was placed on top of the pump. He then struck a match, setting fire to the petrol and walked away, the bottom of his trousers or shoe also catching fire. The fire extinguished itself and the entire incident lasted around two minutes in total, the court was told. During a subsequent search of the accused’s apartment, five vodka bottles containing petrol and with strips of a torn sheet in the top of the bottles were located. These were described as petrol bombs in court and were seized by gardaí.

During his charge to the jury, Judge Connolly said they may have concerns about the accused’s state of mind after hearing his evidence. He said that there was a presumption of mental fitness for all accused which could only be overturned with appropriate psychiatric evidence. He said no such evidence had been given to the court of this.

The jury began their deliberations on Thursday afternoon and deliberated for two hours six minutes. After the verdict, the judge thanked them for their hard work, and the care and attention they brought to the case. He excused them from duty for seven years.

Mr Mullooly was remanded in custody, and he was thanked for his conduct during the trial. Defence barrister Mr Shortt asked the judge to order a probation and psychiatric reports for the next sitting, which was granted.

(See full report in Tuesday’s Roscommon Herald.