Mother and son in court accused of throwing man from moving 'fake taxi'

Tom Tuite

A mother and son are to stand trial accused of robbing and risking the life of a passenger allegedly "ejected" from a fake taxi while still in motion in Dublin.

Maria Muntean (34) and Damit Rostas (18), who have an address at Virginia Hall, Belgard Square, Tallaght, Dublin, were arrested in Ballsbridge just before 4am on March 17th and charged with robbery of the man of his iPhone and bank card.

They also face charges for endangerment of life and deceiving the man into getting into her vehicle by pretending to provide a taxi service and failing to stop when the man was pushed out.

They appeared again at Dublin District Court on Monday, and the prosecution served them with books of evidence.

Judge Michele Finan noted the Director of Public Prosecutions directed the case to proceed to a higher level with broader sentencing powers.

Judge Finan agreed to the State's request to grant a return for trial order, sending mother and son forward to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, where the case will be listed for mention on October 26th.

The pair, yet to indicate a plea and granted legal aid, were remanded on bail.

The judge directed gardaí to hand over copies of video evidence to the defence and told the defendants they must notify the prosecution if they intended to use alibis in their defence.

During a March 18th bail hearing, Garda Gillian Duffy said she and a colleague were on mobile patrol when they observed a '08-reg car driving along Serpentine Avenue, Dublin 4.

She alleged it "slowed down but was still in motion" when a male was "ejected from the moving vehicle" onto the middle of the road.

The court heard he was allegedly thrown from the back seat.

The garda activated her patrol vehicle's lights, but the car failed to pull over; she overtook it and got to stop by manoeuvring in front.

It was claimed that the mother of seven, Maria Muntean, drove and that Damit Rostas, in the back seat, allegedly pushed the injured party from the moving car.

Garda Duffy claimed Mr Rostas had approached the intoxicated complainant on Kildare Street, where he had fallen asleep against a statue.

It was the prosecution case that Mr Rostas aroused him and told him he was operating a taxi service, and the man got into the back seat.

However, when the car reached Serpentine Avenue, he was spotted falling out but "got up and looked very stunned".