A man with ‘super human’ strength who had to be restrained by seven Gardai after going berserk has been found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Theo Boakye broke into a technology company and attacked its €300,000 server system with a fire extinguisher.

The 24 year old student later escaped Garda custody and was involved in a confrontation with several Gardai in Letterkenny, Co Donegal.

However, Gardai said Boakye had incredible strength and did not react to being pepper-sprayed or being struck with batons.

Boakye, described by his barrister Peter Nolan as a ‘courteous and gentle young man’, had suffered a psychotic episode on November 3rd and 4th, 2013, Letterkenny District Court was told.

A jury were shown terrifying CCTV footage of Boakye jumping through a reinforced wire glass pane before going on to attack servers with a fire extinguisher.

The following day Gardai were called when Boakye went berserk in a phone shop in Letterkenny when his debit card would not work.

He had tried to pay for €1,700 worth of goods including smart phones on his debit card at the Carphone Warehouse shop but it was declined several times.

He then smashed the machine by punching it and the manager of the store called the Gardai.

When Gardai arrived, Boakye, of 76 Ballymaccol Woods, Letterkenny, reacted violently and had to be forcefully arrested.

He was taken to Letterkenny Garda station but escaped while being brought to hospital.

Gardai Damian Mulkearns said the prisoner had ‘super-human’ strength while his colleague Garda Marcus O’Dowd said pepper spray or batons simply did not work on Boakye.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Dermot Ward said he discovered that Boakye had suffered from acute psychotic episodes during which he felt paranoid but also felt he may have special powers.

He said this particular type of mental illness was more common in people from “the African race.”

He added that most likely Boakye would not even have know he was committing such crimes.

He added that he found Boakye to be a personable young man and that if he stayed on his medication, he was very unlikely to encounter another similar psychotic episode.

The jury took a half hour to find Boakye not guilty by reason of insanity of all seven charges including assault, causing criminal damage and escaping Garda custody.

Judge John O’Hagan described the case as most unusual and said that in his seventeen years as a Judge it was only the second time he had come across a not guilty by reason of insanity verdict.

He discharged Boakye on the condition that he continues to attend for psychiatric check-ups, takes his medication and that he stays away from alcohol and drugs.

‘SUPER HUMAN’ MAN IN PRAMERICA ATTACK FOUND NOT GUILTY DUE TO INSANITY was last modified: by

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