By Sonya McLean
A man who attempted to “extort two innocent people” by threatening to slit children’s throats, burn down one of their family homes and kill them has been jailed for five years.
Dylan Mangan (26) of Patrick Heaney Crescent, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to charges of making unwarranted demands with menace in March 2020.
His co-accused Des Smyth (25), with an address at The Island, Chaplizod, pleaded guilty to the same offence.
Last month, Judge Orla Crowe imposed a sentence of four years and suspended the final 18 months for three years to encourage Smyth in his drug rehabilitation. She said at that hearing that Smyth was “a henchman in an attempt to extort two innocent people”.
Yesterday, Judge Martin Nolan jailed Mangan for five years. He described it as an “insidious offence” and said threats were made to two people which included threats to kill them, slit throats of their children and burn down houses.
He acknowledged that Mangan pleaded guilty and has demonstrated remorse but said the threats were both menacing and frightening.
At the sentence hearing earlier this month, Detective Garda Sarah Barry told Diana Stuart BL, prosecuting, that the charges related to two separate victims – a man whose half-brother was a drug dealer and owed a debt and this man’s boss.
Both victims had nothing to do with the drug industry and were unconnected to the debt.
Det Gda Barry said CCTV footage showed Smyth and Mangan arriving at the first victim’s place of work on March 20, 2020.
They called to the office and said the first victim owed them money.
They told the staff that the man owed €20,000 and that they would return the following day to collect.
They spoke to the man’s boss and told this man that they knew where he lived and threatened to “fucking slit your kids’ throats” if they did not get their money.
Det Gda Barry confirmed that this second victim had concerns for his family.
The men left and this victim rang his employee who confirmed that he didn’t owe anybody any money.
Later that day, the second victim got a phone call from a number connected with the co-accused but there was no evidence to confirm which of the men were speaking to him as the man could hear two people speaking.
The man told the callers that he didn’t have any money to give them, but the callers replied that he had a car, a house and named his other business.
He told the callers that the first victim would sort it out.
He later got a further five calls from a private number but he didn’t answer them.
Det Gda Barry confirmed that the first victim lived “a clean life” and had no drug addictions.
He had been working for the second victim for five years.
The first victim got a call from his sister who told him that a note had been put through their door saying they were looking for one of his relatives and if they did not get the €20,000, they would burn the house down.
Det Gda Barry confirmed that the first victim’s half brother owed a debt.
Further phone calls were received, again threatening to kill the victim if the money was not handed over.
The callers knew his wife’s name and the fact he had children.
Gardaí were alerted and confidential information led to Smyth and Mangan being nominated as suspects.
CCTV footage from their arrival at the victim’s place of work also led to their identification.
On Mangan’s arrest, the gardaí dialled the number that had been connected to the threats and Mangan’s phone rang.
He gave no comment during a follow up interview.
Mangan has 18 previous and has been serving a sentence for an earlier offence.
He is due for release in September this year.
John Berry SC, defending, said his client had written a letter expressing his remorse.
He does not have a drug addiction, but has a gambling problem.
Counsel acknowledged that it was “a nasty type of crime” and that the men had asked for immediate payment.
Mr Berry said his client was under pressure at the time but counsel said those pressures “are no longer part of his life”.