Judge strikes out charge against man who caused €3,000 of damage in attempt to escape from lift

A man who suffers from panic attacks and caused over €3,000 worth of damage when trying to free himself from a jammed lift today walked free from court.

Judge strikes out charge against man who caused €3,000 of damage in attempt to escape from lift

A man who suffers from panic attacks and caused over €3,000 worth of damage when trying to free himself from a jammed lift today walked free from court.

In the incident, Noah James (28) of Mill House Apartments, Mill Rd, Ennis caused the damage to the lift when trying to get out of the malfunctioning lift on January 27 2018 at the Mill House Apartments.

According to solicitor for Mr James, Stiofán Fitzpatrick, Mr James suffers from panic attacks and doesn’t like enclosed spaces.

Mr Fitzpatrick said that when Mr James got into the lift on the fourth floor with a friend and the doors wouldn’t open, he took action.

Mr Fitzpatrick said that Mr James became extremely agitated and first tried to kick his way out of the lift and then lit a piece of paper to set off the smoke alarm in the lift.

Mr James then set a glove alight which knocked out the CCTV camera in the lift.

He said that Mr James had buzzed the operator of the lift but felt that his concerns were not being taken seriously.

Mr Fitzpatrick said that the length of time between Mr James entering the lift and members of the fire service eventually freeing Mr James and his friend with hydraulic claws to open the door took around two hours.

Insp Morgan O Donoghue told the court that if Mr James didn’t damage the doors of the lift, he would have been out much sooner.

Mr James initially pleaded guilty to the charge of criminal damage of the lift as a result of the admissions he made to gardaí at interview.

However, after hearing an outline of the facts in the case at Ennis District Court, Judge Patrick Durcan invited Mr James to change his plea to ‘not guilty’.

Mr Fitzpatrick made the application on behalf of his client and Judge Durcan accepted the change of plea.

In response, Insp O’Donoghue said that the State wished to withdraw the case against Mr James and Judge Durcan struck out the charge.

Insp O’Donoghue said that he took into account what Judge Durcan had said about the case.

Judge Durcan said: “My wife and daughter were caught in a lift for 20 minutes and it was a very scary experience. To be trapped in a lift is a very frightening experience.”

He said: “The damage that this man did was to try to extricate himself from the lift - he got into a lift where there were serious defects.”

Judge Durcan said: “On occasion, you are entitled to do something that would otherwise be unlawful like taking evasive action and crossing a continuous white line in order to avoid an oncoming car.”

He added: “A warning should go out to all lift companies that all lifts should be checked and serviced regularly.”

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