ASKED CHEMIST FOR SANDWICH WHILE DRUNK

A Dundalk man who asked a pharmacist for a sandwich and ended up assaulting her while he was drunk has been given a jail sentence.

Sean Ward (26), 16 Oldbridge, Toberona, went into McCabe’s Pharmacy at the Long Walk on May 18 and demanded a sandwich. He was intoxicated Gardai said and he became aggressive when he was refused by staff.

He hit a stand that was sitting on the counter and a staff member’s arm was bruised as a result and she was off work for a week following the incident.

In addition, Ward also admitted public order offences arising out of an incident at the XL store in Glenmore two weeks before the shop worker assault. Gardai were called to the area after Ward refused to leave the shop and they found him outside by the time they arrives.

He was ‘stumbling around and had a large cut on his arm’. He was drunk and was arrested before being treated by an ambulance crew. Ward, who was 60 previous convictions including for theft, assault and traffic offences, has been in custody since a six month sentence was imposed on October, solicitor Peter Lavery said. Mr Lavery said that his client is ‘doing well in custody’ and wants to apologise to the shop worker in the chemist and Gardai. He has ‘no excuse’ for that he did.

Both incidents happened when Ward was intoxicated and Mr Lavery asked Judge Flann Brennan to take into account Ward’s early guilty pleas. He asked the judge not to extend Ward’s time in custody.

Judge Brennan said the defendant has ‘an appalling record’ but he said he would ‘ take everything into account’ and imposed a four month sentence to run from December 14 for the chemist store assault and took the other charges into consideration.