A five-month suspended prison sentence was handed down to a 27-year-old Moyross man for throwing a bin at a gardai patrol car. Anthony Collopy was arrested by gardai and charged with the public order offence dating back to August 12 last, when walking in the Moyross area. Gardai gave evidence that the accused became abusive and disruptive after he threw a small brown bin at the rear driver’s side of the patrol car.
Heavily intoxicated, it was said that Collopy abused the garda members at the scene and was arrested.
Solicitor, John Herbert, told the court that Collopy had consumed “quite an amount of alcohol,” and was “subjected to abuse from a group of people gathered in the area.”
Mr Herbert said that his client threw the “empty brown bucket” at the group and that it hit the gardai car in error.
Collopy was asked by Judge Eamonn O’Brien if he would consider joining the AA.
It was stated that Collopy had a small number of previous convictions.
He was attending Tevere Day Hospital, was receiving treatment for depression and was unemployed.
Judge O’Brien quipped that “half of the country was being treated for depression,” and that it was not a reasonable excuse for his actions.
Collopy was sentenced to five months in prison and it was suspended for a period of two years pending that he be on good behaviour and entered a €100 bond.
