Mayo family left traumatised after drug dealers targetted them
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar District Court to demanding money with menace.
An innocent Mayo family have been left traumatised after they were targetted by drug dealers chasing an outstanding debt.
Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court heard how Darragh Moon, of Doon, Westport had his car burnt out while €60,000 worth of damage was caused to his family home as drug dealers sought to intimidate him into paying a drug debt owed by his brother Keith.
Oran Brennan, aged 26, of Ballaghaderreen Road, Kilkelly, pleaded guilty to a charge of demanding money with menace when he appeared before Judge Eoin Garavan.
Gda Padraic O’Connor told the court that on August 17, 2020, Gardaí received a report of a car on fire at Doon, Westport. The black VW Golf was engulfed in flames and the fire had spread to the Moon house causing more than €60,000 worth of damage.
Gda O’Connor explained that Darragh Moon’s brother Keith had a drug problem over the years and his parents had previously made a one-off payment of €50,000 to drug dealers.
On August 17, 2020, Darragh received a phone call from a man who called himself OB. He knew him to be Oran Brennan and Brennan did not contradict him when Darragh used his first name.
Brennan told him that Keith owed €28,000 and the family was now responsible for the debt.
Another phone call was received following the arson attack with Brennan stating: "Now you know we’re not messing around." Darragh Moon recorded this phone conversation.
Brennan warned that further damage would be caused to the house if the debt was not paid.
The court heard that Darragh Moon is a 25-year-old lorry driver who has never been in trouble with Gardaí and has worked hard all his life. He had only purchased the car three weeks earlier before it was set ablaze.
Victim impact statements from Darragh Moon and his mother Emanuelle were read into the court.
Darragh said his life has never been the same since the attack and his mental health has suffered.
He said he is wary when driving his truck at night and sometimes fears that he is being watched or followed.
“I am very aware of how vulnerable I am,” Darragh stated.
He said he still gets a "chill" when he receives a phone call from an unknown number. He is constantly worried about leaving his mother alone in the house when he goes to work and said the financial impact of the attack has "set me back years".
Emanuelle said she is "in fear" when alone in the house and has suffered from anxiety since the incident. She said she has never spent a night away from the house out of worry that it could be targeted again.
Mrs Moon described the arson attack as "a life-changing event" for her family.
Judge Garavan adjourned the case until July 5, 2024, for a probation report on Brennan and to hear mitigation on his behalf.
