High Court Releases Man Detained for Stolen Coke
A man named Sean O'Hanlon has been released from prison after a High Court ruling found that his detention was unlawful.
O'Hanlon had been held in Cloverhill Prison since July 22, when he appeared before Dundalk District Court on charges related to the theft of two cans of Coca-Cola valued at €3.60.
The High Court judge, Mr. Justice Garrett Simons, reviewed the transcript of the Dundalk proceedings and found that O'Hanlon had not been given a fair hearing.
According to the judgment, during the District Court hearing, O'Hanlon was asked if he was applying for bail and responded by apologizing for the alleged theft and stating it would not happen again.
The High Court judge found that this response could not reasonably be understood as a thorough answer to the Garda objection to his release, which included 46 outstanding warrants and an alleged failure to comply with existing bail conditions.