Claremorris man threatened to infect staff with AIDS

Claremorris man threatened to infect staff with AIDS


A CLAREMORRIS man who threatened staff with a syringe full of blood and demanded money in two aborted robberies was placed on probation for the next 12 months.
Cory Byrne with an address at 4 Chapel Court, Chapel Lane, Claremorris, entered St Colman Credit Union and the Cash for Gold store in Claremorris with a syringe containing blood on July 28, 2011.
The 26 year-old demanded money from both premises, but fled both without getting any. He was arrested shortly afterwards at Claremorris Railway Station.
Garda David Brandley told last week’s sitting of Castlebar Circuit Court that when Mr Byrne entered the Credit Union he confronted staff member, Hilary Connaughton with a syringe and said ‘give me the money and you will not get hurt’. Ms Connaughton ran into the back room, and Mr Byrne fled without any money.
He then entered the Cash for Gold store in the town and told staff member Cathal Brennan ‘There is AIDS in this … give me all the money’. After being confronted by the store manager, John McKay, Mr Byrne fled the shop, dropping his passport in the process.
Mr Byrne went to the railway station, where he was arrested and made a full admission to gardaí. He had been in custody since last March when he was arrested on foot of a bench warrant issued after he failed to appear in court in January 2013. Mr Byrne has four previous convictions for drug and public order offences.

Not a ‘master criminal’
Mr Diarmuid Connolly, BL for Mr Byrne, told Castlebar Circuit Court that what his client did on the day was a ‘new departure’ for him, as his previous convictions were on the ‘lower end of the scale’.
Mr Connolly added that the facts of the case showed his client was not a ‘master criminal’.
Judge MacCabe placed Mr Byrne under supervision of the Probation Service for 12 months and asked for a probation report for the first court date in January to ‘see how [Mr Byrne] gets on’.