Dublin man accused of attacking OAP for 10 days after taking over his home as a 'base'

Tom Tuite

A Dublin man has been accused of attacking a pensioner over 10 days after his home was taken over and used as a drug-dealing "base".

Father of two Jason Gumble, 32, from Dublin 7, was charged with assault causing harm to the 69-year-old man from August 4th - 13th last.

He appeared at Dublin District Court on Tuesday, where bail was set at €5,000 with a range of conditions, and he was remanded in custody until the funds have been lodged.

Detective Garda Sean Harrington told Judge Treasa Kelly that the complainant reported to gardaí that a specific male, whom he called “Jay”, entered his Dublin 7 flat and engaged in drug dealing.

Objecting to bail, the detective maintained that this male was the accused. He claimed there was CCTV of Mr Gumble and another male walking to the alleged victim’s home.

The court heard the OAP that he was frequently prevented from leaving his flat and assaulted by the accused and another male on several occasions.

Judge Kelly heard that the pensioner told gardaí he had to deliver drugs on Mr Gumble’s behalf.

It was alleged that his residence was used as a base against his will for this activity, and that the accused had the keys to his home.

The man, who has since moved out of the area, has stated to gardaí that the unnamed second male held a knife to his throat while the accused filmed this and forced him to smoke crack cocaine.

The detective alleged that he feared for his life and was threatened on multiple occasions over the 10 days.

His phone was surrendered and found to have threatening messages from a phone with a number allegedly attributed to Mr Gumble, and which has been recovered following a search of his house.

Gardaí also received a 999 call from another man claiming that his uncle’s flat had been taken over by the accused.

Photos that were said to depict the 69-year-old man’s neck injuries were shown after the judge was informed that gardaí had taken statements from the person who had taken the pictures.

Mr Gumble has yet to indicate a plea.

Defence solicitor Aoife McTaggart said the objections to bail featured mentions of lots of other charges which were not before the court, and that it was her duty to remind the court of the weight that should be placed on hearsay evidence in bail hearings.

She argued that there was evidence of another party’s involvement, but there was no evidence to confirm the accuracy of the photo evidence presented in court.

She submitted that her client had the presumption of innocence and could face years in custody pending trial if his application were denied. The solicitor stressed that his client’s mother was offering to stand bail in a large amount for her.

She pointed out that the bail hearing had not been given any direct evidence from the complainant or anyone else. Ms McTaggart argued that the evidence presented was not sufficient to refuse bail.

Judge Kelly held that it could be granted but required the accused to pay €5,000 cash. Once bail has been taken up, he must sign on daily at a Garda station, obey an 11pm – 6am curfew, provide a phone number and remain contactable and have no contact with the alleged injured party.

Legal aid was granted. He will appear again on October 8th.