People left ‘terrified’ following Strokestown bank robbery

A man who has 129 previous convictions pleaded guilty to his role in a bank robbery in Strokestown which left victims “terrified” and suffering flashbacks when the case came before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Roscommon Circuit Court.

Stephen Maughan with an address at 125 Callan Bridge Park, County Armagh is charged with robbing the manager of the Bank of Ireland, Church Street, Strokestown on April 20th, 2018.

Detective Garda David McDonnell told the court on this date a black Audi reversed into a parking space at the Bank of Ireland and four men got out wearing balaclavas and gloves with one remaining at the front.

Outside the bank a woman and a young male were collecting for Special Olympics while another woman was at the door. These three people were bundled into the bank and it appeared that one man had a handgun.

He was described as 5 foot 6 of slim build with a puffy red eye. The court heard “he seemed to be the ring leader and was calling the shots”.

The men began to shout, “where is the money, where is the safe?” and a computer was thrown on the ground. They jumped up onto the counter and after a very short period left the bank.

CCTV footage from the bank showed one of the men holding a nail bar and “something else in his hand which appeared to be a firearm”. Witnesses described him as having a gun.

On April 21st a Black Audi was discovered in a shed at a house in County Roscommon. It was one of five vehicles stolen in Tyrone on April 16th.

A black Ford Cougar vehicle was also considered to be relevant to the case as it was seen travelling in convoy with the Audi. After the robbery CCTV footage was obtained with the Ford being seen at a service station with the defendant getting out and buying five bottles of Lucozade.

Later, in Dundalk the Cougar was stopped with the defendant driving and gardaí noticed his red puffy eye.

In one of the victim impact statements a witness said she was a care assistant and on that date she was collecting for Special Olympics with another person in her care. She said they had been grabbed and pulled into the bank, describing it as “frightening and shocking. “ She was trying to keep the other person with her calm as he kept saying “man, gun.”

She did her best to reassure him. After the incident she said she was shaking and crying uncontrollably. She had a panic attack and rang her brother and went to his house as she did not want to be alone. She is unable to sleep at night and has flashbacks.

The mother of the young male pushed into the bank along with the previous witness said her son was nonverbal. “He lived in a world where he felt safe and secure but he was exposed to violence, which he has not been able to compute.” She said his distress has manifested and there have been behavioural changes.

The court heard that the entire incident took between three to four minutes.

Another witness stated that the group of men seemed like they were “amateurs,” and that “they did not seem to know what they were at”.

The court also heard details of the extensive previous convictions Mr Maughan had and that a warrant for his extradition has been issued.

The court was told that there was an issue as to how long he had been on remand and the case was adjourned in order to verify this matter.

When Mr Maughan reappeared before the court, the issue had still not been resolved, with the State indicating he had been in custody for these matters for approximately one year. However, Mr Maughan’s defence team argued he has been in custody for a much lengthier period.

A further adjournment was requested to carry out inquiries, with a possibility of a PSNI witness being required to give evidence if the details cannot be confirmed.

Mr Maughan was remanded in continuing custody to July 9th at Longford Circuit Court for a day that has been set aside for Roscommon cases.

*Published as part of the Court Reporting Scheme.