Teen given bail after Claremorris stabbing

Strict conditions imposed as judge grants bail until February 16

Ciara Galvin

A 16-year-old male charged with the manslaughter of Dovydas Jenkus in Claremorris on Saturday has been remanded on continuing bail to next February.
The youth, who cannot be named because of his age, appeared before Ballina District Court today (Tuesday) where proceedings took place in a small room to the rear of the main courtroom.
The youth, a foreign national, had been granted bail under house arrest at a special court sitting on Sunday last and has been granted further bail until February 16 next under strict bail conditions.
One of the conditions is that he does not return to St Colman’s College, where both he and Dovydas Jenkus had been attending.
The issue of the youth resuming his education was brought up by Judge Mary Devins and she was informed that members of the deceased’s family attend the secondary school.
Defending solicitor Evan O’Dwyer informed the judge that after making contact with a representative of the Board of Management from another school, a letter and previous school reports were forwarded to the school to allow for consideration of a transfer.
Judge Devins questioned if there would be any issue with the accused being in a school setting, which she described as having a ‘forced intimacy’. Arresting garda Detective Sergeant James Carroll replied that it appeared there would be no issue in this regard and described the circumstances of the incident which led to the death of Dovydas Jenkus as ‘unique’.
A cash lodgement of €5,000 was handed into court on behalf of the accused’s mother who was present in the court.
Superintendent Joe Doherty outlined that a file was being prepared for the DPP with the possibility of further charges.

Bail conditions
The extensive set of conditions for bail were outlined in the court and include the surrender of travel documents by the youth and his mother, a 24 hour curfew until January 6 next, to be reduced to a daily curfew between the hours of 7pm and 8am thereafter and to sign on three times weekly at Claremorris Garda Station.
Other conditions include not to return to St Colman’s College, to be available at all times for An Garda SióchΡna to ensure he is complying with the curfew and not to make contact with any member of the Jenkus family, or witnesses.
Along with residing with his mother, another condition included to refrain from making any comments on social media in relation to the matter. The court heard that a comment was made on social media on Sunday last by a person, not the accused, in relation to the matter but that this comment had since been removed and that there has been a ‘complete shutdown of social media from all family members’.
Dovydas Jenkus was fatally stabbed in an incident which occurred in the early hours of last Saturday morning in the back garden of a house in a Claremorris housing estate.