Waterford landlord and son who blackmailed and intimidated woman have sentences suspended
Waterford
landlord and his son have had their sentences suspended for blackmailing and intimidation of a former tenant in their appeal case.
John Guiry (50) and his son John Frampton (28), of Ballygarron, Kilmeaden, received prison sentences for intimidation and coercion last March.
Guiry received a four-month sentence for coercion. Frampton received an eight-month sentence for making an unwarranted demand, with menaces, of the woman to immediately vacate her family home.
The woman claimed Guiry said he wanted her out by May 5th, 2024, or he would be 'sending people' to the property.
READ MORE
On May 2nd, 2024, five hooded men approached her at the property. One man, understood to be Frampton, threatened to kill her if she didn't leave.
The encounter left the woman and her teenage daughter 'terrified', the court heard.
On July 23rd, State Solicitor Frank Hutchinson outlined the facts of the case in court in Waterford before Judge Sarah Berkeley.
The court heard that May 2nd, 2024, a woman living in a rented property in Larchville reported to the Garda that
a gang of five men had arrived to her home, dressed all in black with their hoods up and tied.
Three men stood at the wall of the front garden while another man approached the woman and made threats to kill her and 'everyone in the house' if she didn't leave the property.
He told her: 'You've had plenty of notice to get the f**k out of here. I'll be back and kill you and everyone in the house.'
The women pointed to the packed boxes in the house and said she was 'getting ready to go'.
The hooded man said : 'You better go or I will be back.'
The woman's teenage daughter was inside the house at the time of the encounter and witnessed the threats. She took a photo of the men and the vehicle they used.
The vehicle was later identified as belonging to Frampton.
The woman and daughter recognised the man making the threats as their landlord's son, based on his appearance.
The victim told gardaí that she had been in a dispute with her landlord Guiry over moving out of the property and had gone through proceedings with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).
The RTB said the termination notice as invalid and ordered the woman to be paid €4,500 in damages.
Mairead Deevy BL represented father and son in their appeal.
Ms Deevy said that the accused offered their apologies to the victim and her family and 'had written letters to that effect'.
Guiry told gardaí he was running on the Waterford Greenway at the time of the incident.
Defence counsel told the court the tenant had been renting the property since 2013. In 2023, Guiry spoke to her about moving out of the property because his own daughter 'fell pregnant' and needed a place to live.
Ms Deevy said: 'The tenant, quite correctly, didn't want to go as rent was €750.'
Over the following months, the woman tried to find other accommodation but failed to secure a new home.
The termination notice issued by Guiry was deemed invalid by the RTB.
Ms Deevy said that meant Guiry would have to 'start the process all over again'.
'Rather than go through the legal means, they took the law into their own hands.'
The defence presented photos taken of the house in the aftermath in the event, which purportedly showed the property as being left in a 'poor state' after the incident. Judge Berkeley was also provided character references for the defendants.
Ms Deevy later said: 'I can only say it was a moment of madness.'
Judge Berkeley said: 'Yes the house was left in a fairly bad state but there was no excuse for what happened.'
The judge suspended both sentences for 12 months and ordered them to pay €4,500 to the victim.
'I think at this stage they've learned not to take the law into their own hands,' the judge said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Man arrested following seizure of ecstasy tablets worth €235,000 in Monaghan
A man has been arrested following the seizure of ecstasy tablets worth around €235,000 in Monaghan today. The drugs were discovered at a residence during a targeted joint operation involving members of An Garda Síochána and Revenue's Customs Service. A man aged in his 20s was arrested at the scene and is currently being detained at a Garda station in the northwest under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984. He can be questioned for up to 24 hours. The MDMA seized at the property, which has an estimated street value of €235,000, will be sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis, and investigations are ongoing. The joint operation involved officers from the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, Monaghan Divisional Drugs Unit, and Revenue's Customs Service. A spokesperson for Revenue said the intelligence-led operation was part of the agency's ongoing efforts in the area. "The seizure is part of Revenue's ongoing work targeting smuggling and shadow economy activity," they said. "If businesses or members of the public have any information, they can contact Revenue in confidence on 1800 295 295." A Garda spokesperson said investigations were continuing following today's seizure. "In the course of a joint operation conducted by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB), Monaghan Divisional Drugs Unit and Revenue officers, a residential property in Monaghan was searched today, 25th July 2025," they said. "MDMA tablets with an estimated street value of €235,000 (pending analysis) were seized. "A male in his 20s was arrested at the scene and is currently being detained at a station in the Garda North Western Region under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984," they confirmed. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Dublin city's first static speed camera introduced in Dolphin's Barn
Dublin city's first static speed camera will commence operation in Dolphin's Barn from next Friday, said Gardaí. Vehicles detected driving in excess of the posted speed limit will be subject to prosecution from midday on August 1st. 'Prosecution of speeding offences takes place by Fixed Charge Notice (FCN),' Gardaí said. The current FCN is a €160 fine accompanied by three penalty points. Dolphin's Barn was identified as part of a wider national analysis as a road which could benefit from the implementation of a safety camera. READ MORE 'The location was selected based on fatal and serious injury collision data from the last seven years and speed data, as well as feedback from stakeholders,' Gardaí said. The family of Brazilian carer Josilaine Ribeiro, who was killed at Dolphin's Barn bridge in November 2023 while cycling to visit a patient, had previously called for road safety improvements in Dublin. [ Garda revokes more than 900 speed camera fines on stretch of N25 due to 'human error' Opens in new window ] Speed surveys on Lower Crumlin Road and at the Bridge over the Grand Canal at Dolphin's Barn undertaken as part of the UCD WeCount Traffic Impact data project in the six months before Ms Ribeiro's death had found more than 100 cars an hour were breaking the speed limits. Dublin City Council (DCC) said it was 'pleased to see the introduction by An Garda Síochána of the first ever static speed camera within the Council area'. 'The Council worked closely with An Garda Síochána to facilitate the installation and initial operation of the camera. DCC said it will continue to work with An Garda Síochána 'on road safety and measures which can help to improve road safety for all'.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Man jailed for role in murder of David Douglas in Dublin shoe shop appeals conviction
A Dublin man jailed for life for his role in the murder of David 'Daithí' Douglas who was 'executed' at a city centre shoe shop in Dublin nine years ago, has appealed his conviction arguing the court was wrong to find that a 'general association' with others linked to the crime was indicative of guilt. Mr Douglas (55) was shot six times in broad daylight as he took a meal break at the counter in his partner's shop, Shoestown in Dublin's Liberties. The semi-automatic pistol used in the murder had its serial number removed and was 'brazenly' left at the scene next to the deceased's head, the court heard. Lee Canavan (36) was jailed for life by Special Criminal Court on June 3rd, 2021. Canavan was the fourth man to be jailed in relation to the murder and his conviction was described by gardaí as 'significant'. READ MORE In 2018, gangster Frederick 'Fat Freddie' Thompson (45) was jailed for life by the Special Criminal Court for the murder of Mr Douglas. In 2019, Nathan Foley (26) of Maryland, Dublin 8, was jailed for six years after he pleaded guilty to assisting a criminal organisation by driving one of four cars and buying mobile phones used in the offence. Canavan's half-brother Gareth Brophy (30) was jailed in February 2020 for ten years also by the Special Criminal Court for his role as getaway driver. David 'Daithí' Douglas was shot dead in Dublin in 2016. In passing judgment, the non-jury court ruled that Canavan was part of a joint enterprise or shared intention to murder Mr Douglas in what was described as a 'meticulously planned execution'. However, the three-judge court did not agree with the State's contention that Canavan was 'the person who literally pulled the trigger', owing to a lack of forensic or identification evidence. Delivering judgment, Mr Justice Michael MacGrath said that four different vehicles had been used in the murder in a 'carefully planned assassination'. A Mercedes car used in the killing was found burned out near the shooting and a stolen Suzuki Swift was then used to ferry those in the Mercedes away from the burn site. Canavan, with an address at Edenbrook, Rathfarnham, Dublin 14, had pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Douglas, who died after sustaining injuries to his chest, neck, back, torso, elbow and jaw at Shoestown, Bridgefoot Street, Dublin 1, on July 1st, 2016. Launching an Appeal against his conviction on Friday, Canavan's senior counsel Michael Bowman argued the court had made an error by convicting Canavan of murder in circumstances where the prosecution opened the case on the basis that his client was the individual who 'literally pulled the trigger'. He also submitted the three-judge court was wrong to find that a general association with others was indicative of guilt. Mr Bowman said Canavan was 'habitually' seen with Freddie Thompson and Gareth Brophy, who was his half-brother. 'There is nothing unusual about that. His presence in their company is not of tremendous relevance,' counsel said. He went on to say that Canavan had been stopped 22 times in cars he was not entitled to drive and on 11 of those occasions he had been in the company of Freddie Thompson. 'The presence or absence of him in the company of these people in the vehicles is not extraordinary,' said Mr Bowman. Mr Bowman said the court ultimately took the view that there was enough to convict on the basis of joint enterprise/common design. However, the barrister said there was 'no reference' during the prosecution's opening to joint enterprise/common design. Mr Bowman said there was insufficient evidence of joint enterprise to convict of murder and the case was defended on the basis that the prosecution's case was that Canavan was the shooter. Mr Bowman also argued the court was wrong not to accede to a defence application for a direction of no case to answer. He said the court also erred in allowing the admission of identification evidence from two members of the gardaí. He submitted the purported identification by the two members of the force were not subject to oversight, processes or safeguards and that neither garda possessed notebooks or contemporaneous notes detailing the manner in which they made their identification, nor could they point out features causing them to identify Canavan in the CCTV. He also said statements from witness James Maughan should not have been admissible during the trial in circumstances where the case was opened on the basis that Canavan was the shooter and 'Mr Maughan was central to that'. In response, Tony McGillicuddy SC, for the DPP, said this case had involved 'planned execution of a man in his own shoe shop'. 'It was planned carefully to secrete certain vehicles in certain places, planned to ensure they were out of the radar,' said the barrister. He said these vehicles then became 'live' later in the afternoon – one as 'the murder vehicle' and the other as the 'getaway' car – for the team involved in the killing. Mr McGillicuddy said the court found Canavan was 'an integral part' of that team on the basis of joint enterprise. He said the court found Canavan was 'centrally involved' in the placement of vehicles in areas not covered by CCTV and fed the meters to ensure they would be available later on. Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the court would reserve judgment. A father of one, Canavan was concurrently jailed for five years for the criminal damage to the getaway vehicle, a stolen Suzuki Swift, in Sandymount three days after the shooting. After the guilty verdict was delivered in May 2021, Detective Chief Superintendent Paul Cleary told media outside of court that Canavan's conviction was 'very significant' and that gardaí had now convictions for the 'whole murder cell'.
