Raider who threatened to chop off fingers of students during burglary jailed for nine years

Olivia Kelleher

A raider who burst into a house with another man and held two students at knifepoint whilst warning them that they would have their fingers chopped off unless they handed over cocaine and cash has been jailed for nine years.

Martin Ekhosuehi (23) appeared before Cork Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing, having previously been convicted by a jury of aggravated burglary, two counts of assault causing harm and two counts of making threats to kill or cause serious injuries.

It followed an incident on July 2nd, 2023, when Ekhosuehi of Willow Gardens, Glanmire, Co Cork, and an accomplice used force to make their way in the front door of a house at Highfield Avenue in College Road in Cork city.

Detective Garda Eoghan O’Callaghan indicated that the offence occurred at around 7pm. He stated that the two male occupants of the house told gardaí that the two intruders had made demands for money and cocaine.

“Both were demanding money. They then proceeded to ransack the house, demanding to know where cocaine and cash were located.

“They (the two young men) were held at knifepoint and instructed to assist in the search. They got numerous punches to the head.”

The garda said that the two men “repeatedly told (the intruders) that they didn’t have drugs.”

One of the intruders was wearing a black tracksuit and a black ski mask. He was armed with a large knife with a black handle. The second man was also dressed in a black tracksuit. He was carrying a back pack and had a flathead screwdriver.

The court heard that the second intruder was never identified. One of the men told the occupants of the house that he would cut their fingers off.

The garda said that the men took a small sum of cash and two phones from the property before running out the back door.

A glove was left behind at the scene. It was forensically examined and was found to have a fingerprint matching that of Ekhosuehi.

One of the students was on the phone to his girlfriend when the intruders broke in. She rang gardaí amid concern about the sudden noise in the house and the fact that her boyfriend had abuptly hung up.

Gardaí went to he property. They shouted in the letterbox. The two occupants of the house were warned that they would lose their lives if they engaged with gardaí.

The two men subsequently raised the alarm themselves after the burglars had fled the scene. When gardaí arrived at the house they noted that the men had sustained cuts to the faces.

Det Garda O’Callaghan said that Ekhosuehi was without guilt or remorse for putting the students “in genuine fear for their lives.”

CCTV footage was harvested from the area. It showed two suspects on foot locally at around 7.19pm. One of the gardaí involved in the investigation was able to identify Ekhosuehi.

In a victim impact statement one of the young men said that he genuinely belived that he would not survive the incident. He sustained nerve damage to his face having been punched many times. He not longer “feels safe” at home and is “anxious” in public.

The other injured party said that he moved out of the house following the incident. He suffers from anxiety — particularly in social situations. He said that he often lies awake in bed listening to any and all “bumps in the night.”

Judge Sinead Behan jailed Ekhosuehi, who has 14 previous convictions, for 11 years suspending the last two years of the sentence. She said that the students were “in fear for their lives” during the “traumatic incident.”