Fifty statements taken and over 100 hours of CCTV footage viewed by Gardaí investigating devastating Longford fire

A man alleged to have started the Sunday, July 28 fire in Grafton Court, Longford town which resulted in over €3 million of damage, will return before court at the start of September.

Guo Zhong Chen (55) of 9 Belvedere Terrace, Mullingar, Westmeath first appeared before a special sitting of Longford District Court last Friday (August 9), and returned before Mullingar District Court on Monday (August 12).

Mr Chen, represented in proceedings by solicitor Fiona Baxter, has denied any involvement in the alleged arson attack.

Inspector Declan McGlynn said at the outset that the State were “strenuously objecting” to the bail application based on O'Callaghan Rules and Section 2.

O'Callaghan Rules objections are based on three different principles; the likelihood that someone will evade justice by not showing up to court, the likelihood property that could be used as evidence will be disposed of and interference with witnesses.

PICTURES | Super party night in Longford as Kevin Hussey celebrates reaching the big 40!

Section 2 objections allow the court to refuse bail to prevent the commission of a serious offence while the person is on bail.

Garda Shane O'Connor gave evidence of the arrest, charge and caution of the defendant on the day of the hearing (Friday, August 9).

The Garda witness said Mr Chen's reply when charged was: “They are going to blame all those offences on me.”

Gda O'Connor outlined details of interviews carried out with the defendant since his arrest two days prior to the bail hearing.

The witness said Mr Chen, who lives in Mullingar, confirmed he was at various locations in Longford on the night of the fire.

During the interviews he admitted driving his black Ford CMax from Mullingar to Longford. Mr Chen accepted he was the owner and sole key holder of the vehicle.

Garda O'Connor said the accused accepted he removed items from the boot of his car in Longford town.

The officer told the judge that it was his belief items taken from the car were used to aid the ignition of a fire in close proximity to Grafton Court.

PICTURES: Memorable night at Longford Variety Group’s ‘2024 All Star Karaoke’

Garda O'Connor guided Judge Gearty through extensive CCTV footage that tracked a car driven by the defendant from Mullingar to Longford. There were 110 CCTV clips in the court submission.

The first clip showed the defendant entering a fast food restaurant on Austin Friars Street in Mullingar.

The footage then showed Mr Chen get into his car and drive to Longford. In Longford he drove around the town, before removing items from his boot and putting them at the rear of Taghshinny Lodge, the three story townhouse on Chapel Street.

The video showed Mr Chen drive around again, before parking in Bannon Terrace. The clips then showed a man putting a white hooded top over a dark tee shirt as he walked from Bannon Terrace, where the car driven by the defendant was parked, toward Grafton Court.

The hooded man made his way to Geraldine Terrace, picking up a shopping trolley on the way. He pushed the trolley to the rear of Taghshinny Lodge where he gathered the items removed from the Ford CMax earlier.

The CCTV shows the hooded figure pushing the trolley through the archway from Geraldine Terrace Car Park to the courtyard at the rear of Grafton Court. The man then returns the trolley to the trolley stand in the main car park opposite Longford Shopping Centre.

PICTURES: Longford revellers soak up fantastic First Fridays entertainment

The next CCTV clip, from 1:20am, shows the hooded figure passing through the archway, then moments later running from the scene as the shadow thrown by flickering flames can be seen in the footage.

The man in the hoodie runs onto Geraldine Terrace, then walks down Mel's Road, Templemichael Terrace and back to Bannon Terrace, where he can be seen throwing an item on the ground.

Garda O'Connor told Judge Gearty that when officers saw the CCTV they immediately went to the area and found a pair of gloves and a blue cigarette lighter.

The items were analysed by Forensic Science Ireland who created a DNA profile that Garda O'Connor said matched a DNA sample taken from the defendant.

Garda O'Connor stated that the investigation had taken over 50 statements and viewed over 100 hours of CCTV footage.

The reasons for the Garda objections to bail were that they believed Mr Chen has “no ties to the jurisdiction” and that he has a partner who lives in China.

Inspector Declan McGlynn put forward the State's contention that there were no bail conditions to satisfy the prosecution. He pointed out the defendant tried to evade Gardaí when initially arrested by jumping 16 feet from the second story of a building, when officers called to his house in Mullingar, running through gardens in his underwear before being caught by Gardaí.

PICTURES | Longford students have a ball! Glitz and glam at Ballymahon VS graduation dance

Inspector McGlynn said the defendant had a ticket to return to China on August 13.

Gda O'Connor said it was the State's belief that the fire was deliberately started to scupper a new business venture of Mr Chen's ex-partner's brother.

In an interview before the arrest of Mr Chen a witness claimed the defendant said his ex-partner's brother's new business venture, a sushi restaurant in Grafton Court, “would not last long”.

In summing up the State's objection Inspector McGlynn said the State believes the defendant would interfere with witnesses.
He said the fire was devastating, and loss of life was only avoided by the swift actions of the emergency services. The damage has affected 13 businesses, and sixty people unemployed as a result.

“The crime has caused considerable public expense to the Fire Service and Longford County Council. The cost to date is estimated at €50,000,” Inspector McGlynn said.

The inspector spoke of the cost to Garda of the investigation; from the canvassing witnesses to the downloading and reviewing of CCTV footage.

Solicitor Fiona Baxter put it to the witness that the person in the white hoodie goes off camera on a number of occasion and there were a number of blind spots on the route from Bannon Terrace to Grafton Court, however Gda O'Connor said “it would be next to impossible” to cover the entire route.

Also read: “It will be quite a while before we can get up and running again" Longford business owners react to fire

Ms Baxter pointed out that in spite of the extensive footage available to Gardaí there was no clear facial identification of the person in the hooded top.

The solicitor said that in interview her client never exercised his right to silence and answered all questions put to him.

“He accepts he was in Longford on the night, but absolutely denies he was the person in the hooded top. He denied he started the fire and denies he was in the white hoodie,” Ms Baxter told the judge.

Also read: Longford business community pulls together in wake of fire

Giving details of Mr Chen's background Gda O'Connor said the defendant moved to the UK from China in 1994 and has lived in Ireland since 2000.

The officer said Mr Chen has a Bubble Tea and sushi restaurant leased in Mullingar, but while there are three years left on lease it was the Gardaí's understanding that it was in financial difficulty.

Ms Baxter said in the week since the fire her client had shown no signs of involvement: “He didn't leave the area, he has remained in Mullingar. He has been going about his daily employment since,” she said.

The legal representative outlined “serious health issues” that necessitated her client's return to China for treatment. Ms Baxter said Mr Chen's medical treatment and his difficulty with language would make incarceration very difficult for him.

Inspector McGlynn asked Garda O'Connor if he was sure the man being charged was the suspect he replied: “Absolutely judge.”

At the initial bail hearing on Friday Judge Gearty said she believed the defendant did pose a flight risk and remanded him in custody to appear before Mullingar District Court on Monday via video link.

Appearing before Judge Michael Connellan in Mullingar District Court on Monday, the Chinese national was further remanded in custody until September 3.

Judge Connellan directed the defendant to receive all medical and psychological treatment deemed necessary while in custody.

Also read: Longford property owner reflects on fire that ripped through his Grafton Court property on Sunday morning