Crime « Thurles Information

Teenager Facing Murder Of Tipperary Chef Now Released

A teenager facing charges in the Kansas City murder of Shaun Brady, the Tipperary restaurateur, latter who sadly was fatally shot outside his restaurant in August 2023, has been released without charge by Jackson County Family Court. The teenager had been held in custody since shortly after the fatal shooting of Mr Brady.

On Tuesday last, the release of the teen, who was charged in juvenile court, was confirmed by his defence attorney, Mr Matthew Merryman. The teen had been charged with second-degree murder, attempted theft of a motor vehicle and armed criminal action.
Mr Merryman stated “You know this case generated a ton of local and international attention and when the public outrage is so high. There was a rush to find someone and hold them accountable. Here there was a rush to judgment and the teen was just the first Black kid they found to pin that judgment on.”

A second teen, a 15-year-old remains similarly charged. A December hearing is set to determine whether he will be tried as an adult.

With the investigation still open, Mr Brady’s death came as a shock to his Brookside neighbours and the larger Kansas City community. This shooting is understood to have come about amid a rash of other thefts and break-ins in the area.

Age 44 years, Mr Brady, who was married with two young children, was the co-owner of the Brady & Fox Restaurant and Lounge, 751 E. 63rd Street. and a prominent member of Kansas City’s Irish heritage community. He lost his life on August 28th 2023, two days before he was to be part of the Kansas City Irish Fest, which he took part in on an annual basis.

At Around 5:00pm. on the evening in question, he reportedly attended at the rear of his restaurant to find a group of teenagers attempting to steal his motor vehicle. Following an argument he was shot.
This altercation was caught on security cameras and the two teens were arrested two days later, by Kansas City police.

Kansas City Police Department confirm that Mr Brady’s shooting remains an open investigation.

AIB Urge Customers To Remain Vigilant Against Fraud.

Ms Deborah Kilbride (AIB Financial Crime Prevention team) posts reminder to customers this Christmas.

As we head into the festive season and 2024 draws to a close, we are urging customers to remain vigilant against fraud as it can affect any of us at any time.
Criminal activity continues even during the festive season. We want to alert you to common scams that have been prevalent this year. We all lead busy lives, and it just takes a second to get caught off guard and fall for a scam. Here is some information and ways to avoid being scammed.

Text message fraud.

Fraudulent text messages claiming to be from reputable banks, delivery or utility companies and government departments are common. Take a moment and ask yourself does this seem legitimate?
Don’t click the link in the text message or share your personal or financial information.
Often these messages are followed by a phone call claiming to be us, sometimes even using our actual phone number. End the call immediately. We will never call you and request security codes sent by text message, push messages or from your card reader.
We will never send a taxi or courier to collect your physical card, PIN or any security details.

Phone call fraud.

Fraudsters often use phone calls to get your personal and financial information for their own financial gain. They may pretend to be from a legitimate company and may even display a genuine phone number. Common tricks used on these calls is to offer to fix an issue with your broadband or offer a refund. They may try to take control of your device. Never download software or apps, that they suggest, onto your computer or mobile phone as this will allow fraudsters access to your information.
End any unexpected calls.
Call the company back on a known and trusted number to verify the call.

Investment fraud.

Investment frauds and scams are on the rise, with criminals using social media to advertise highly profitable investments. These ads often use advanced technology to appear legitimate.
Always ask yourself, is this too good to be true? Such high return investments are usually not genuine. Before investing your money take some time to research the provider, verify their existence and that they are regulated and always seek independent financial advice.

Purchase scams.

Online shopping is convenient and popular, especially at Christmas time, but criminals can clone genuine websites to offer fake discounts to target unsuspecting customers. This can happen with any site, including clothing, homewares, or heavy goods vehicles such as diggers, campervans and boats. These cloned sites often look and feel genuine.
When shopping online, check for a padlock symbol in the address bar, research the site for negative reviews, and verify contact details. Avoid direct bank transfers. Ask yourself, is this price too good to be true?

Money mules

Being a money mule is a criminal offence.
Criminals use others’ accounts to transfer stolen money to conceal their crime. They can trick anyone into using their accounts. Without access to your account, criminals will not be successful.
They may approach you online, in person, on social media or through fake job adverts asking to move money through your accounts or to open a bank account in your name for them. They may even offer you some money as payment.
This use of your account, even if you don’t know where the money has come from or is going to, means you are becoming a money mule. This may result in your bank account being closed or a criminal conviction for money laundering.
Parents should also be aware that teenagers and young adults are often targeted by criminals, with the promise of quick cash so sharing this information with family members can also be helpful.

For more information on the latest frauds and scams visit the security centre on the AIB website.

One Tipperary Site Identified By EPA For Enforcement In Q3 2024.

In total seven sites have been identified as National Priorities for enforcement by the EPA in Q3 2024.

Seven Sites were identified as National Priority Sites in Q3 2024; three were from the Food & Drink Sector, two from the Intensive Agriculture Sector, one from the Waste Sector and one from the Anaerobic Digestion Sector.
The most common issues identified at these sites were non-compliant discharges to water and facility management.
A site’s presence on the National Priority Sites List indicates a poor level of licence compliance.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its National Priority Sites list for quarter three, 2024. The National Priority Sites (NPS) System is a system of performance-based indicators to rank industrial and waste licensed sites in order of priority for enforcement. This allows the EPA to target its enforcement effort at the licensed operators with the poorest environmental performance.

Commenting on the publication, Dr. Tom Ryan, Director, EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement said: “Our enforcement activities are risk based and we prioritise sites that are not complying with their licence. As noted in the EPA’s recent State of the Environment Report, a disproportionate number of sites on the National Priority Sites list have been from the dairy processing and waste sectors. This trend continued in Quarter 3 2024. The seven sites on the current list will be the subject of targeted enforcement action to ensure that the environmental issues are addressed, and compliance is restored.”

Ms Pamela McDonnell, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Industrial Licence Enforcement Programme said: “Three of the sites on the National Priority Sites List, North Cork Co-Op Creameries Limited, Tipperary Co-operative Creamery Limited, and Aurivo Consumer Foods Limited, are milk processing sites. Each of these has featured on the National Priority Sites List previously. Milk and milk effluent pose a significant risk to local streams and rivers if it is not carefully managed. The dairy sector must prioritise investment in environmental controls to prevent the discharge of polluting material. This remains a priority issue for the EPA”.

Other sites on the National Priority Sites list also pose a risk to water quality.
The waste sites on the list include a non-hazardous waste transfer station and an anaerobic digestion facility. Both sites failed to provide sufficient infrastructure to protect groundwater and surface water.

Similarly, at the two intensive agriculture sites on the list, poor management of waste and storm water increased the risk of contaminated discharges.

The list of National Priority Sites for Q3 2024 is in Table 1 below:

Licensee.	Sector.	Issue.
Tipperary Co-operative Creamery Limited, Co. Tipperary	Food & Drink.	Discharges to water & infrastructure.
A Pig Farmer, Co. Longford	Intensive Agriculture.	Discharges to water.
Aurivo Consumer Foods Limited, Co. Donegal.	Food & Drink.	Discharges to water.
CRM Pigs Limited, Co. Cavan.	Intensive Agriculture.	Discharges to water, waste management & facility management.
North Cork Co-Op Creameries Limited, Co. Cork.	Food & Drink.	Discharges to water & air emissions.
Starrus Eco Holdings Limited, Waterford City.	Non-Hazardous Waste Transfer Stations.	Discharges to water & facility management.
Timoleague Agri Gen Limited, Co. Cork.	Anaerobic Digestion.	Infrastructure & facility management.

Community Policing Unit for North Tipperary/East Clare.

The North Tipperary/East Clare Community Engagement area has a new Community Policing Unit.

Meet the 7 Gardaí from the new Community Policing Unit for North Tipperary/East Clare Community Engagement area.

They will be stationed at Killaloe, Newport, Nenagh, and Roscrea Garda Stations, ensuring a consistent and accessible Garda presence.

Members of the Community Policing Unit will work a structured roster, in line with the Midlands Working Time Agreement 2024, to maximize visibility and engagement opportunities with the public, attending community meetings and maintaining a proactive presence in local schools.

Key objectives for the Community Policing Unit will include addressing crime and anti-social behaviour through problem-solving initiatives developed in partnership with local communities and agencies. Targeted enforcement, as well as focused crime prevention and reduction strategies, will be central to the Unit’s approach, thus supporting a safer and more secure environment for all residents.

Legislation To Reform Family Courts System Passed.

The Family Courts Bill is a key element of the programme of reform to make family justice processes safer, cheaper, more efficient and less adversarial.
Judges to be assigned on a full-time basis to the Family Court divisions.
Best interests of the child will be a primary consideration in the conduct of all family law proceedings.

Today, November 7th, 2024, the Family Courts Bill 2022 passed through both Houses of the Oireachtas. Once enacted, the legislation will provide for the establishment of family court divisions within the existing court structures, a Family High Court, a Family Circuit Court, and a Family District Court.
Judges who have specialist training or experience in dealing with family law matters will be assigned to the Family Courts divisions on a full-time basis.

Key reforms contained in the Bill include:

The establishment of a Family Court as divisions within the existing court structures.
The assigning of judges on a full-time basis to the Family Court divisions – judges who, by reason of their training or experience, are suitable to deal with matters of family law.
The creation of new positions of Principal Judge of the Family High Court, Family Circuit Court, and Family District Court to ensure proper and effective management of these Courts.
A requirement for ongoing professional training in the area of family law for judges.
Allowing for joint applications to be made for judicial separation, divorce, and dissolution of civil partnership, and supporting mediation and alternative dispute resolution in such cases.
The setting out of guiding principles for the conduct of family law proceedings, which are directed at ensuring the best interests of the child are a primary consideration, encouraging mediation – where appropriate – and that as far as possible proceedings are accessible and user friendly.

The Bill also provides for a greater proportion of non-contentious family law matters to be dealt with at Family District Court level, in order to provide local access to the court system and to enable family law issues to be resolved in the simplest and most cost-efficient way, reducing the stress faced by litigants in such cases.

The Family Courts Bill is a key component in the ongoing implementation of the Family Justice Strategy, which is driving reforms to create a more efficient and user-friendly family justice system that puts the family and children at the centre of its work.

This includes:

Ensuring the voice of the child is heard in family law proceedings, in line with a child’s constitutional right, and developing new ways to ensure that this right is upheld. This includes an allocation of €3 million to develop a children’s Court Advocate Pilot Project, and a pilot scheme to fund welfare and voice of the child reports;
Supporting the Judiciary to develop a set of guidelines for the use of welfare reports in family law proceedings;
Reviewing training options across the family justice sector, identifying gaps and opportunities for new provisions;
Improving information provisions for all those accessing the system, including children and young people;
Developing options to provide alternatives to court, including the development of a set of child maintenance guidelines and expansion of the Family Mediation Service through the Legal Aid Board’s private panel of family mediators;
Commissioning research on the operation of the In Camera rule, a draft of which the Minister expects to receive shortly.