A man who allegedly "dragged" the owner of a Porsche sports car out of the vehicle has been refused bail.
Cillian Rafferty, of Easton Row in Leixlip, County Kildare, was arrested last night. It followed the alleged hijacking of a car which was then crashed on the Chapelizod Bypass, in West Dublin.
He was taken before Dublin District Court today, where he was charged with robbery, motor theft and faced objections to bail.
Mr. Rafferty's defence solicitor told the court the 21 year old denies the charges.
A Garda alleged a man in his 40s, was sitting in his Porsche sports car outside his home at 8pm yesterday, when he was approached by another man shouting "get out of the effing car."
According to the owner, he was "dragged from the vehicle", and it was driven into the city centre.
Members of the public dialled 999 to report the dangerous driving, and at Merchant’s Quay, the car’s "tyre had become disconnected following a collision".
The Porsche continued onto the N4 where ut crashed in Palmerstown.
The Garda said it had significant damage and "may well be written off."
A Judge heard the accused was still in the car when gardai arrived, but under cross-examination, the officer agreed 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.
Efforts are underway to find CCTV footage, the court heard.
Mr. Raffery's solicitor said the car was clearly taken, but Mr Rafferty maintained he was a passenger in the car and had been "terrified".
"We say someone else was driving," the solicitor submitted.
The judge declined Mr Rafferty’s bail application and remanded him in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on August 16.
