Eoin Reynolds
A man who was part of an armed gang that robbed two bookmakers has had an appeal against his conviction dismissed.
Karl Vogelaar (29) of Oulster Lane, Drogheda, Co Louth was found guilty by a jury at Dundalk Circuit Court of two counts of robbery contrary to section 14 of the Criminal Justice Act 2001.
The court heard that three men entered Tully's bookmakers in Wheaton Hall, Drogheda at 8.45pm on November 4th, 2016. One of the men held a gun into the face of the lone employee on the premises and shouted: "Where is the money?"
A shot was fired into the air and one of the three punched the employee in the face. The raiders left with €1,600.
Ten minutes later the raiders entered Tully's bookmakers in the Ballsgrove area of the town. They took €1,735 and left in a car that was recovered by gardaí a short time later.
DNA profile
Inside the car gardai found several items linked to the robbery including a pair of black leggings which were found to contain a DNA profile matching Vogelaar's. Vogelaar was convicted on July 9th, 2019 and sentenced to four years imprisonment.
Vogelaar's lawyers argued at the Court of Appeal that the DNA evidence did not directly link Vogelaar to the crime and that the trial judge should therefore have withdrawn the case from the jury.
Returning a judgment of the three-judge court Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy today dismissed the appeal. She said the presence of DNA matching Vogelaar's on the leggings, alongside items that were clearly linked to the robbery, "significantly strengthened" the link between Vogelaar and the robbery.
She added: "On the conclusion of the respondent’s case there was, in our opinion, sufficient evidence which, if accepted by the jury to the requisite standard, could lead to a conviction."
