Man allegedly ‘dragged’ from Porsche before vehicle driven erratically through Dublin city

A man allegedly “dragged” the owner of a Porsche 911 from his car in south Dublin before it was driven erratically around the city and crashed, a court has heard.

Cillian Rafferty (21), of Easton Row, Leixlip, Co Kildare, was arrested on Tuesday after being found in the crashed 2010 vehicle which was taken at Northbrook Avenue in Ranelagh. The Porsche lost a wheel, hit other cars and had suffered extensive damage by the time it came to a halt in Palmerstown, the court heard.

Mr Rafferty was charged with robbery and motor theft when he appeared before Judge Ciaran Liddy at Dublin District Court on Wednesday. Defence solicitor Donal Quigley told the court his client denies the charges.

Garda Patrick Spollen alleged that the owner of the car was sitting in it outside his home at around 8pm and was approached by a man who shouted “get out of the f***ing car”. The motorist told gardaí that the man “motioned with his fist”, which left him “in fear for his life”. He said he was then “dragged from the vehicle”, which then took off towards the city centre.

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Tyre disconnected

Members of the public dialled 999 to report the dangerous driving and the court heard the car’s tyre had become disconnected following a collision at Merchant’s Quay. The Porsche proceeded to the N4 and crashed in Palmerstown.

Garda Spollen said the car “may well be written off”. He said additional charges could be brought because it hit several vehicles.

Judge Liddy heard the accused was still in the car when gardaí arrived, but the officer agreed under cross-examination that Mr Rafferty was in the passenger seat. He accepted that no one had identified the defendant as the driver when the car was in the city centre and said efforts were underway to find CCTV footage.

“We say someone else was driving,” the solicitor submitted.

Judge Liddy declined Mr Rafferty’s bail application and remanded him in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on August 16th.