Man grabbed in headlock and had scooter robbed in late-night attack, court hears

By Fiona Ferguson

A man was grabbed in a headlock and robbed of his electric scooter by a group of three men in a late-night attack, a court has heard.

Aidan Metcalfe (30) of Bride Street, Dublin 8 pleaded guilty to robbery of an electric scooter at Bunting Road, Walkinstown on September 8th, 2023. He has no previous convictions.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Metcalfe and another man “wrestled” the scooter from the man while a third man held the victim in a headlock. The scooter, valued at €120, was not recovered.

His two co-accused are still before the courts.

An investigating garda told Conor McKenna BL, prosecuting, that the injured party was an Afghan national living in a hotel in Dublin.

He was returning to his hotel in the early hours of the morning on an electric scooter when he was suddenly approached by two men.

The two men, one of whom was Metcalfe, asked him to stop and chased him when he kept going. They grabbed the scooter’s handlebars and brakes. The men attempted to wrestle the scooter from him while questioning him. The victim told them he just wanted to go home.

A third man then came from behind and placed him in a headlock. The victim tried to hold onto his scooter, but at this point, the two men grabbed it away. He said threats were made to him, but did not attribute them to a particular person.

He said Metcalfe and the other man who was wrestling the scooter from him were not aggressive compared to the third man holding him in a headlock. No weapon was used during the incident.

The victim was not physically injured but told gardaí he feared for his life during the incident.

Gardai carried out an extensive trawl of CCTV in the area during the investigation. The court heard there was no victim impact report.

Eoghan Weldon BL, defending, submitted the offence was “spontaneous rather than planned” and said Metcalfe had consumed a significant amount of alcohol in the hours before.

The court heard he is “extremely remorseful” and has written a letter of apology to the victim. In the letter, he said he takes responsibility for his behaviour, said his conduct was unacceptable, and he is committed to making better decisions in the future.

Counsel said his client wished the injured party to know that he had nothing to fear from him going forward.

He has no further garda attention and has since reduced his alcohol intake significantly.

Mr Weldon said he has a supportive family and is the father of a child with special needs who relies on him. He is currently working and coaching boxing. He has boxed for Dublin in the past and has had a number of professional fights.

He said Metcalfe is keeping up his training and avoiding negative influences.

He said Metcalfe had struggled in school and had behavioural issues growing up, and the court might benefit from a probation report. He also handed in character references from family and the mother of his child. He said Metcalfe could have €800 in court if he were given two weeks.

Judge Orla Crowe adjourned sentencing until July to allow a probation report to be prepared.