Derry Daily
  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Sport
  • Features
  • Courts
  • Business
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Jobs
Sunday 19°CMonday 19°C

Derry Daily Derry Daily Derry Daily

  • News
  • Entertainment
  • Sport
  • Features
  • Courts
  • Business
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Jobs
CourtsDerry CityNews

Derry man used finger to hijack taxi

October 31, 2021
ShareTweet

A DERRY man who used his finger to hi-jack a taxi said he felt like he was in an episode of 1980s American police television show ‘Starsky and Hutch.’

Alan Luukas appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court in Donegal where he was charged with false imprisonment and making threats to kill during the terrifying incident.

The court heard Luukas jumped into the back of the taxi in Moville after another man had flagged it down.

Once inside the taxi, 42-year-old Luukas shouted “I have a gun. Take me to Derry or you’ll get a bullet. I’ll blow the head off you if you don’t do as a I say.”

The passenger had earlier noticed a man hanging around the streets of the coastal town but couldn’t stop him jumping in the taxi.

Luukas terrified both the driver Mr Thomas Lake and also his passenger Danny Murphy as they traveled the 18 miles across the border to his mother’s home at Foyle Park.

Along the way he kept telling the driver and his passenger “You’re going to get a bullet in the head. Keep your hands up and no funny business.”

He added that his daughter had been killed and since that he had no respect for life.

He warned the two men “I’ve murdered before and I’ll murder again. It’ll not cost me a second.”

Taxi-driver Mr Lake said he met a Garda patrol car at Muff and considered flashing his lights at him but didn’t.

When they got to Derry, Luukas told them to empty their pockets and that he wanted their money but they told him they had none.

He then told the driver to take them to Foyle Park which was where his mother lived.

Just before he got out of the taxi he told them “If I see any sign of any Gardai or police you are dead. If anyone comes looking for me I’ll send boys after you.’

The witnesses then said it looked like he was putting something down his trousers and Danny Murphy said to the taximan “Drive, drive, drive.”

They added that although they didn’t actually see a gun they were in fear all the time.

The victims got home and decided to sleep on the incident but reported it to Gardai the following day, March 5th, 2015, for fear Luukas would strike again.

For six years there was no sign of Luukas despite attempts by Gardai to contact him across the border in Derry.

Then on July 2nd this year, he was arrested following a public order incident, again in Moville.

A Garda at the scene remembered Luukas, who has a distinctive scar above his eye, and linked him with the previous crime.

While waiting for the Garda van he threatened Gardai, saying: “I’ll have you murdered and your family murdered.

“I’ll have you shot by the IRA on the street. I’ll sort you out for that, you’ll be shot, I’ll get you in the long grass.”

Gardai said he took the threat seriously.

When questioned about the hijacking of the taxi Luukas initially denied it was him saying a lot of people in Moville just didn’t like people from Derry.

However, when he heard the facts and what the victims had gone through he made full admissions.

He compared it to an episode of Starsky and Hutch, said he didn’t have a firearm and just wanted to get to his mother’s house.

Saying he was concerned about the men he asked “Did they get home okay? I was a good actor back in the day. But that with drink and you have no feelings. Yes, it was wrong beyond belief.

“It sounds like it began as a mad idea coming from a bar drunk and looking for a taxi. A crazy idea that got out of controol.

“Im disgusted and devastated. I have to stay strong. This was a mad idea. It was like Starsky and Hutch, when you’re in a car and you get carried away and one thing leads to another.”

Mr Luukas told his barrister Fiona Crawford that he would like to meet his victims and tell them how sorry he was.

Ms Crawford said her client suffered from mental health issues and has no connections whatever with any paramilitary organisation and had never actually seen a real gun in his life.

“As he said himself it was gaga, madcap and bizarre and he would like to apologise from the bottom of his heart for the kidnapping,” she added.

The court was told Luukas has 32 previous convictions in Northern Ireland for a range of incidents including arson, burglary, assaulting police and drink-driving.

Judge John Aylmer said this was an “extremely serious case deserving of a custodial sentence”.

He told Ms Crawford it would be in her client’s interest to get a full psychiatric report and he adjourned the case for sentence to the next session of the court.

Derry man used finger to hijack taxi was last modified: November 2nd, 2021 by cassoscoop

Tags:
Alan Luukusdefence barrister Fiona CrawfordDerry CityDerry man used finger to hijack taxiFOYLE PARKgardaiiraJudge John AlmerLETTERKENNY CIRCUIT COURTpassenger Danny MurphyTAXI DRIVERThomas Lake
ShareTweet

LEAVE A COMMENT

You may also like

Man charged over Co Derry baseball assault

5 hours ago

Five arrested after brawl at Co Derry...

9 hours ago

Rider of scrambler dies in Co Derry...

12 hours ago

Police seize items from Derry stall over...

12 hours ago

Apprentice Boys parade takes place in Derry

1 day ago

McLaughlin: Unreliable train services letting people of...

1 day ago

Man sustains broken jaw in serious Co...

1 day ago

McLaughlin calls for equal minimum wage for...

2 days ago

Anger after UDA/UFF flags erected in Derry

2 days ago

Honours even as City share scoreless home...

2 days ago

Keep in touch

Facebook Twitter Email

Features

  • Derry cancer survivor Noeleen McMorris reveals importance of awareness

    July 25, 2022
  • Competition! Win tickets to Northern Ireland v England Women’s Euro 2022 match

    June 17, 2022
  • Glenapp Castle: Only a few miles from home but a million miles away

    December 20, 2021
  • DD Travel Feature: The Unsung Shores of Portugal

    November 12, 2021
  • Derry meeting led young Donegal woman to high profile murder

    July 16, 2021

Courts

  • Man charged over Co Derry baseball assault

    August 14, 2022
  • Derry man wanted over court bench warrant

    August 9, 2022
  • Man convicted of Derry sex offences found dead in van

    August 6, 2022
  • ‘Victims in criminal justice system latest casualties of Stormont dysfunction’

    August 4, 2022
  • Man to face Derry over cannabis dealing offences

    August 4, 2022

Donegal Daily

  • Daniel’s stunning gesture to Arranmore Lifeboat in memory of Andrew Early

    8 hours ago
  • Inishowen rowers complete journey to Scotland for Hospice!

    9 hours ago
  • Thunderstorms to bring end to sunny spell – Met Éireann

    12 hours ago

Read More

  • News
  • Sport
  • Courts
  • Jobs
  • Features
  • Business
  • Politics

Information

  • Contact Us
  • About
  • Advertise WIth Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms & Conditions
Derry Daily

© 2022 Derry Daily. All rights reserved.


Back To Top

Posting....