'It was violent' - Limerick man goes on trial following robbery outside discount store

A MAN has gone on trial accused of robbery following a violent incident outside a discount store more than five years ago.

Wayne Williams, aged 41, with an address of Griffith Avenue, Ballinacurra, Weston, Limerick has pleaded not guilty to robbing Frank Butler outside Mr Price, Annacotty on January 15, 2021

It is alleged a quantity of bird seeds, hand sanitiser and a water condenser were taken after Mr Butler was threatened and attacked during an incident outside the store. 

A jury at Limerick Circuit Court has heard that at the time of the incident, Mr Butler had been working as a van driver for security company  Brinks-Mat for over two decades but that he did not return to work after the alleged attack. 

On the day in question, Mr Butler started work at the Brinks-Mat security depot in Galvone. He left the premises at about 7:45am in a van supplied by his employer. 

From there, Mr Butler headed to Colbert Station, Limerick Junction Station and Thurles Train Station. His role was to service the ticket machines, retrieve cash from the box inside (the machines) and then replace them with an empty box. The cash was then placed in a bag that was “posted” into the van’s drop safe. 

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Mr Butler said the money he collected from these ticket machines was “particularly low” and they were “virtually empty” as it was the height of the Covid travel restrictions. 

After completing his day’s work, he was on his way back to the Limerick depot when he made a detour to Mr Price in Annacotty. 

At about 1:30pm, Frank Butler said he entered the shop and purchased bird seeds, hand sanitiser and a water condenser. He then left the store and walked towards his van, which was parked opposite the main entrance, facing the road. 

Giving evidence at Limerick Circuit Court, Mr Butler said he was walking across when he was struck by a dark-coloured BMW. This sent him up onto the bonnet before landing onto the ground “about eight feet from where I was struck.” 

Initially, he thought this might have been an accident until he tried to get up and walk towards the car, thinking the driver might offer an apology. It was then that Mr Butler saw a masked man had exited the passenger seat with a “pick axe handle” that he was “swinging.” 

“I realised I was being attacked and this wasn’t an accident,” Mr Butler told the court. 

He stated that he asked the masked man “what do you want?” to which he (the masked man) replied, “give me the money.” Mr Butler told him he had none. 

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Mr Butler said he defended himself “like a boxer would” by having his hands up but was still struck multiple times on his hands, arms, shoulders and hip. He said there was “quite a bit of damage” to his hands and knuckles. His finger was also broken. 

He told the jury the man went to swing the weapon again and when he did, Mr Butler claimed he managed to grab hold of both the man and the implement, throwing him to the ground. 

At this point, he said another masked man in the driver's seat of the BMW said: “Leave him alone or I’ll shoot you” while pointing a gun in his direction. Mr Butler became emotional in court while describing what happened. 

He said he dropped the implement and stepped away from the perpetrator. From here, the man got back on his feet and grabbed the Mr Price carrier bag, which Mr Butler had dropped, before running back to the car and driving off at speed. 

Mr Butler then “took control of the crime scene” by calling out to bystanders, requesting the car’s registration plate number which was received. He asked those who witnessed the assault to stay while he called the guards. Mr Butler gave a statement at Henry Street garda station within one hour of the attack unfolding. 

The jury has been told that Wayne Williams is accused of participating in the robbery. 

An eye-witness told Limerick Circuit Court that he attended Mr Price in Annacotty on the day in question and saw some of the incident take place. He exited the store, got back into his car and became alert after hearing “roaring.”

The witness said he saw a man jump out of a car with a stick of some sort and start attacking another man, Frank Butler, in the car park.  

Following the incident, this car then drove “at speed” towards the witness to exit, he said it all happened “very quickly” but watched Mr Butler being struck “2, 3, 4 times” and thought “what the hell is going on here?” 

“It was violent,” he told the court. 

A second eye-witness was also in the store at around the same time shopping for her child’s birthday party. She was with her sister and son, who was a toddler at the time. 

She told the jury that upon leaving, she entered her car and attempted to reverse but the car beside her, a BMW, nearly hit her. This stopped her from being able to exit the car park. 

When asked what she saw, the witness said she “noticed the man from the Brinks van getting attacked.” 

After the incident stopped, she managed to get a partial registration of the car and gave her statement to gardaí the next day. 

In his opening statement, John O’Sullivan, BL, prosecuting, said this robbery was not intent for taking small items but it is his belief that the culprits “had a different" objective in mind.

He said that it is the prosecution case that when all evidence is considered by the jury, they will be satisfied that Wayne Williams participated due to the “multiplicity” of evidence that is to be presented throughout the trial. 

The trial is continuing before judge Colin Daly and a jury