Gardai say they have information linking the prisoner, who is serving a short sentence for other offences, to the robbery last July of Clarke’s bakery in Cabra, Co Dublin.
Senior investigating officers say they plan to recommend murder charges if Jimmy Louth, 66, who was assaulted by the three robbers, dies. Louth has been in a coma since the day after the attack and in the past week has developed infections complicating his medical condition.
This week, RTE’s Crimecall programme will film a reconstruction of the assault, which happened in the early hours of July 3, to be screened in an appeal next month. Crimestoppers will provide a reward for any information that leads to arrests.
Three men forced their way into Clarke’s bakery demanding money and beat staff with broom handles until €1,000 was handed over.
One senior officer on the investigation said last week: “The assault was carried out during the commission of another crime and if [Louth] dies we’ll look for murder charges.”
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Louth was a well-known figure in the local community. He drove the bakery’s delivery van and trained the local junior soccer team. Gardai suspected initially that he may have known one of the robbers and had opened the door of the shop to him.
Last week Louth’s sister, Joan Temple, said doctors treating him have found no sign of recovery from the coma, and that his condition has left him vulnerable to further infection.
After discharging himself from hospital where he was checked after the assault, Louth felt unwell and returned the next day where he collapsed in the waiting room. Surgeons removed a blood clot from his brain but he has been in a coma ever since.
Louth suffered from thrombosis in his legs, a disease that causes clots to form in blood vessels causing potentially fatal blockages. He told doctors after the assault that none of the blows he received were to his head, but gardai say his collapse 24 hours later was likely to have been caused by a clot. The state pathologist has not yet returned a report but detectives suspect the blows to his legs may have started a blood clot that went on to damage his brain.
“We’re waiting on forensic and technical results of tests but we would have a particular suspect in mind,” said another garda. “Depending on being able to link his medical condition to the attack, the assault was part of the robbery, so we’ll be looking for a murder charge.”