'I bet you don't' - Judge puts pressure on State to fast-track case against Westmeath drugs accused
Gardaí have been given further time to compile their case against a Westmeath man accused of drug dealing from an apartment in Rochfortbridge.
Sgt Sheila Kenny said the prosecution were still not ready to proceed with drugs charges against Loran Owen (35) of Mill View, Milltownpass, Co Westmeath on January 31, 2025.
The accused is charged with the possession of cannabis under section 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 and its more serious section 15 sale or supply counterpart.
They allegedly took place at Apartment 4, Bagnall Shopping Centre, Rochfortbridge, Westmeath.
At the outset of court business before Judge Bernadette Owens, Mr Owen’s solicitor Louis Kiernan said the disclosure of State documentation surrounding the case had yet to be handed to the defence.
Sgt Kenny said she believed that correspondence was “in transit” as Judge Owens questioned why there was such a time delay to that process.
“It should have been done before today,” she said, as Mr Kiernan suggested a date in early January for the case to be adjourned to.
“The State doesn’t have an issue with that,” said Sgt Kenny, a statement which led to a humourous response from Judge Owens.
“I bet you don’t,” she said as the case was adjourned to a sitting of Mullingar District Court on January 9, 2026.
Mullingar man facing up to life in prison over assault charges
A man in his 50s accused of causing a woman to believe she would be strangled and suffocated is to stand trial next week in Mullingar.
Vaidotas Gedvilas (53), 134 Ashfield, Mullingar, Westmeath, was served with a book of evidence at a sitting of Mullingar District Court following an alleged incident at his home on a date unknown between November 29, 2024 and November 30, 2024.
The unemployed Lithuanian national is charged with “intentionally or recklessly” causing an alleged named female victim to “believe on reasonable grounds that they were likely to be immediately subjected to suffocation and strangulation”.
The book of evidence also contains a third charge of assault causing harm under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
Louis Kiernan, in defence, said Mr Gedvilas was currently out of work and, on that basis, applied for legal aid to cover the cost of both a junior and senior counsel to represent his client in the Circuit Court.
He said the reason for the application was because of the “very serious” nature of the charges which, upon conviction, carries a maximum term of life in prison.
Judge Owens sent Mr Gedvilas forward for trial on the same District Court bail conditions the accused entered into earlier in the year.
She also gave him what is known as the alibi warning, a legal direction whereby an accused individual is informed of their responsibility to notify the State of the use of an alibi that they wish to rely on at trial.
Mr Gedvilas was remanded on bail to appear before Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday week (November 27).