Man spat water in garda’s face while in custody

COMMUNITY SERVICE REPORT ORDERED FOR AUGHRIM MAN

AN AUGHRIM man who hurled ‘vile abuse’ at gardaí and spat water in one garda’s face is to be considered for community service.

Both Jason Byrne of 29 Riverfield, Aughrim, and his wife Jennifer O’Leary were arrested as they celebrated their first wedding anniversary in an Arklow hotel and appeared before Arklow District Court last Wednesday to have their cases finalised.

Byrne was charged with assault against Garda Niall Kennedy at Arklow Garda Station, and intoxication in public and threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour at Sea Road, Arklow on June 4, 2015.

O’Leary was charged with threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and failure to comply with the direction of a garda at the Arklow Bay Hotel on the same date.

The case had been adjourned for one week to allow Judge Bernadette Owens to consider her verdict.

Byrne pleaded guilty to the public order charges but denied the assault, where he was accused of spitting water in Garda Kennedy’s face while in custody.

Judge Owens said that she noted that there was a period of four hours during which Byrne ‘ hurled abuse at all the gardaí’ present.

She also noted that he apologised for the ‘vile abuse’ levelled at the gardaí and the ‘vile and personal abuse’ directed at the doctor who was called to the Garda Station to help the defendant.

Judge Owens said that she was satisfied that the assault had been proven by the State.

In mitigation, solicitor David Tarrant said that his client, a 41-year-old father of five suffered from poor health. He said that Byrne has a short temper and that ‘ had he only kept his cool, he might not be in this trouble’.

Mr Tarrant asked whether the court would consider ordering community service as a penalty and the defendant said that his health conditions would not prevent him from completing this.

Judge Owens said that while Byrne has some previous public order convictions, there were no previous assault matters and she ordered a community service report. She indicated that if he was deemed to be a suitable candidate, he will be ordered to complete 140 hours of community service in lieu of three months’ imprisonment.

A fine of €150 was imposed for the threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and the final matter was taken into consideration.

Sentencing O’Leary, Judge Owens noted that the defendant has never been before the court on similar charges and said that she was ‘very much on the periphery and endeavoured to calm her husband down’.

She accepted that O’Leary found herself ‘abandoned’ and had nowhere to go, and therefore accepted the reason why she returned to the hotel.

The defendant was given the benefit of the Probation Act.