Man charged with stabbing of man in the face and attempted blackmail of woman

A father of one has been denied bail after gardaí charged him over the stabbing of a man in the face and body and attempted blackmail of a woman at knifepoint in Dublin.

Robert Griffin (37), of Mary Aikenhead House, Dublin 8, was arrested following an incident in which his partner’s father was allegedly stabbed, tyres slashed and a demand for money with menaces in the capital’s north side on Thursday.

He faced objections to bail when he appeared at Dublin District Court on Saturday, facing six charges from the same incident.

Garda Ann Daly voiced witness intimidation fears and cited the seriousness of the allegations.

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She told a contested bail hearing the accused was charged with assault causing harm to his partner’s father, robbery, blackmail by demanding money with menaces, criminal damage and possessing a bread knife and a flick knife as weapons.

Garda Daly said the man was “stabbed in the face” and suffered “two stab punctures to the ribs and chest”.

Four tyres on his car were also slashed.

Mr Griffin allegedly blackmailed a woman with a demand for €200 or he would delete a video from his phone. In addition, it was alleged that a knife was held to the throat of one of the complainants.

The court heard gardaí located Mr Griffin 500 metres away with an eight-inch bread knife and a flick knife.

Garda Daly said the complainants had given statements but were in fear about attending the bail hearing.

Cross-examined by defence counsel Kevin McCrave, the officer agreed the sum in the robbery charge was €35, which counsel said was on the lower end of the scale.

Mr Griffin did not give evidence and is yet to indicate a plea. Furthermore, gardaí must obtain directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) about whether the case would be heard in the Circuit Court with broader sentencing powers.

Counsel submitted that this was not the hearing of the trial, but an application for bail with objections featuring heavy hearsay evidence while his client’s liberty was at stake.

He said the defendant still had the presumption of innocence and bail. Mr McCrave pointed out that the investigating officer had not witnessed the incident, and the people involved did not attend court.

The barrister referred to garda’s point about intimidation of the witnesses, but pointed out that he could not cross-examine them.

A refusal of bail could result in Mr Griffin being on remand in custody for a year before his trial, Mr McCrave said, adding that his client would obey stringent terms, including a no-contact condition.

Judge Simms refused bail and remanded the accused in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court next week. Legal aid was granted.