Letterkenny man caused almost €45,000 damage in car park arson

A Letterkenny man will be sentenced next week for causing nearly €45,000 of damage in an arson attack.

Rory O’Hara used a cigarette lighter to set alight the seat in a car which was parked in an underground carpark on November 29,2018.

O’Hara appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of arson,

Tenants had to be evacuated from nearby apartments when a bade broke out in the underground carpark to the rear of Riverside Apartments.

Detective Garda Kenny told the court that the fire service attended the scene.

The vehicle, which was owned by a Ms Josephine Doherty, was a ‘complete write off’.

CCTV footage showed a man enter the underground carpark at 10.46pm and leave again at 10.52pm. Shortly after he exits, smoke is seen coming from the carpark.

The man initially gave his name as ‘Patrick’, but was identified as being O’Hara.

The owner of the car park, Mr Dermot Gildea, said the total cost of the damage was €44,996.

O’Hara was arrested by Garsa Ronan Morris and made admissions.

The accused told Gardai that he was ‘out of his head’ and said he needed help.

O’Hara, the court heard, has a number of previous convictions for theft and burglary.

Mr Shane Costello BL, O’Hara’s barrister, said there was ‘no rhyme or reason’ why O’Hara set fire to the car.

“It is a very serious, but bizarre crime,” Mr Costello sad. “What could have happened, he is very well aware of and very alive to. There is no explanation for it. He was off his head at the time.”

Mr Costello said O’Hara was using cannabis and a synthetic drug called ‘spice’ at the time.

“He has little understanding or recollection, but he accepts what he did,” Mr Costello said. O’Hara, the barrister said, was diagnosed with ADHD and left school with no formal qualifications.

“He has cobbled together €500 which can be paid over to one of the victims or to a local charity,” Mr Costello said. “He knows that it’s a paltry sum when weighed against the cost of the damage, but it represents a sum of money for him.”

O’Hara is on continuing bail and will be sentenced by Judge John Aylmer on Tuesday next, February 8.