Man had a penknife for camping

A man accused of possession of a pen knife had his case dismissed after explaining that he had been camping.

Sean Jennings (20), 68 Cois Cairn, Bray, appeared in Bray District Court last Thursday.

Garda Alan Conlon of Shankill Garda station said that he was called to the N11 at Loughlinstown on the morning of August 6, 2016 at 7.45 a.m.

Mr Jennings was asleep on the path at a bus stop. Garda Conlon roused him and helped him to his feet. Garda Conlon asked Mr Jennings if he was alright and had he taken anything. He didn’t answer. Mr Jennings attempted to pull away and leave the area.

Garda Conlon brought Mr Jennings to Shankill Garda Station where he was found to have a knife in a closed position in his trousers pocket.

Barrister Eamonn O’Moore asked Garda Conlon if he would accept that Jennings was ‘possibly less than aware’.

‘My opinion is that he was aware of the questions and choosing not to answer, rather than not being able to answer,’ said Garda Conlon.

‘He was able to sleep beside a dual carriageway,’ said Mr O’Moore.

The penknife included a torch, tin-opener and a bottle opener. Mr Jennings told the court that he had been camping nearby at Cherrywood with a group of up to 20 people.

He said that the penknife was being passed around to open bottles of Heineken. He said it wasn’t his and he must have taken it.

Mr Jennings said that he decided to leave his friends and go home. ‘I don’t remember falling asleep at the bus stop. I just remember wanting to go home. I was fairly drunk.’ He said that he had been drinking Heineken and whiskey. ‘I remember waking up in a cell,’ he said.

Judge David Kennedy noted that Mr Jennings had also had a number of lighters in his pockets that morning. ‘I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and dismiss,’ he said. ‘I don’t think there was any major intent behind it.’