Three man gang enlisted by Longford teen to tie up ex boyfriend handed suspended prison terms

Kelvin Adeyemi (20), with an address listed in Annaly Close, Ongar, Dublin 15, Ayokunle Adeosun (20), with an address at The Meadow, Hansfield Wood, Dublin 15, and Tyler McKevitt (20), of The Court, Hansfield Wood, Dublin 15, all appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly, charged with burglary.

Mr Adeosun was also charged with the theft of an Xbox, an iPhone and clothing worth €300 from the injured party.

A fourth co-accused, Jennifer Patrick (20), with an address listed at Dun Darrach, Dublin Road, Longford, was previously ordered by Judge Keenan Johnson to pay a sum of €7,000 in compensation to the injured party and received the benefit of the probation order upon payment.

Judge Johnson referred to the incident as one of the most bizarre that has come before him, calling it a "hair-brained scheme", with Judge Connolly agreeing that the men were influenced by a “siren on the rocks”.

The court heard evidence from Detective Garda Orla Geraghty that, on August 20, 2020, at 3.30pm, the injured party, Paul Atetunji had been subjected to an assault and robbery at the home he was renting in Clonbalt Woods, Longford.

The injured party had been in a relationship with the co-accused, Ms Patrick, which had "soured" and Ms Patrick had reached out to meet him and give him money she owed.

The court heard that she had set up a scenario where the three accused men would enter the property and "beat him up".

"Ms Patrick was inside the property and left the bedroom on the pretence she couldn't find her vaseline or lipstick," said Det Gda Geraghty.

The co-accused then procured the key to the door, and when outside gave it to the three accused before going back into the house.

The three men then entered the house and went into the injured party's bedroom where they put cable ties on his wrists and socks in his mouth. The injured party sustained minor injuries before the three accused left, taking clothing, an Xbox and his phone.

"Cable ties were also put on Ms Patrick to convince the injured party that this was a real offence," said Mr Shane Geraghty, BL, for the state. Det Gda Geraghty confirmed that this was the case.

In a statement to Gardaí, Ms Patrick lied and said she knew nothing about the burglary plan. She was later charged with making a false statement.

"It transpired on the 24th of September that Ayokunle Adeosun had returned to Longford at the request of Jennifer Patrick and returned some of the stolen property," said Det Gda Geraghty.

"The injured party was waiting and there was an incident at the train station. Ayokunle Adeosun got on a bus and Gardaí stopped that bus in Edgeworthstown and got his details."

All three men confessed to their involvement in the incident and told Gardaí that Ms Patrick had been in “a toxic relationship” with the injured party and requested that they “beat him up”. The men travelled down from Dublin and went back up on the same day.

Mr Adeosun and Mr Adeyemi, both originally from Nigeria, picked up a subsequent conviction and three month suspended prison sentence in Trim Circuit Court earlier this year, for robbery of a pair of runners valued at €350 in June 2021.

Dublin native, Mr McKevitt, however, has not come to the attention of Gardaí since committing this offence.

Mr Adeyemi, taking to the stand, told Judge Kenneth Connolly that he has “had time to think” about his actions and that he has realised “sorry is not a big enough word”.

“For the past three years, I’ve been living in fear that my life could be taken away from me and everything I’ve worked for can be taken away from me,” he said.

“People say you’re not sorry for what you did, you’re sorry you got caught, but I am sorry. I’m glad I got caught.”

A letter furnished to the court by Mr McKevitt stated that he was “genuinely apologetic” and “deeply regrets” his actions.

“I’m sick to my stomach from the cowardly thing I did to you,” he wrote to the injured party, “I wish it were easier to put into words how sorry I am.”

Mr Adeosun also took to the stand and said “the things I’ve done don’t sound like the person I am now”, admitting that, at the time, he’d had “a bit of a crush” on Ms Patrick.

“She said to me one day that her ex had hit her. I was looking for a way to protect her so I contacted my friends,” he said.

“For a while, I thought we’d done a good thing but it’s not a good thing no matter what way you look at it. I don’t want to put anybody through that again.”

Judge Connolly, having heard all the evidence and the apologies from the three men, said he’s surprised that there’s “not even a token” of compensation offered, considering the financial loss incurred by the injured party.

“In one sense, we have a hair-brained scheme, influenced by the siren on the rocks. The other thing that concerns me is that two of these men - and I am entitled to take notice of this fact - had a subsequent offence, which is a serious matter,” he said.

He noted that one of the men knew the co accused, Ms Patrick, and that all three engaged in what was “a misguided chivalrous act”, of which the court could “certainly understand” the context, since the men were 17 years old at the time.

“But that doesn’t detract from the offending,” he said. “When I started hearing this case today, it occurred to me that I wouldn’t be able to finalise it today and that I should remand all three in custody for two weeks to cool their heels.

“Each of them is on a path to rehabilitation and even one night in prison might interrupt that, but I have to say I find myself dangerously close to remanding them in custody principally for their sheer stupidity in getting involved with the offending.”

The offending “meets the threshold” for a custodial sentence, he added, asking if the three young men had been watching “too many action movies” to decide to bind their victim with cable ties.

Among a list of “disappointing” factors in the case was the subsequent offence by two of the three men and the fact that not one of the accused had considered offering compensation to the injured party.

“I would’ve thought the first thing anyone would say is if there was financial loss, they would make good,” he said.

If these offences had been committed as adults, he added, he “wouldn't hesitate” to impose a custodial sentence of five years each. However, as the men were minors at the time, he deemed a headline sentence of three years and three months appropriate.

Mitigating factors included the pleas of guilt, admissions to Gardaí and the fact that apologies were rendered, “though I found myself feeling that any apologies rendered were a soothing sympathy for those involved, rather than the injured party”.

However, he noted the young age of the three men, who were 17 at the time of the offence and “sometimes we don’t do the most sensible things when we’re at that age”.

He then sentenced Mr Adeyemi to two years and two months for burglary. Mr Adeosun was handed a sentence of two years and two months for burglary and a concurrent sentence of 16 months for theft.

Mr McKevitt, who Judge Connolly saw as “slightly less culpable, perhaps because he has no subsequent convictions”, was given a two year prison sentence.

All three men became emotional at the back of the courtroom as Judge Connolly proceeded to suspend each of the sentences in their entirety.

Mr Adeyemi and Mr McKevitt were then ordered to pay compensation of €500 to the injured party within six months, and Mr Adeosun was ordered to pay €1,000 to the injured party, also within six months.