A man who threatened to kill a Limerick-based Detective Garda with a 9mm handgun, has been jailed for four months.
Alan Keane, 42, with an address at St Ita’s Street, St Mary’s Park, admitted one count of making a threat to kill or cause serious harm to Detective Garda Paul Bentley, Henry Street Garda Station, Limerick, on January 16th this year.
Gardai attached to the Limerick Divisional Drugs Unit raided Keane’s house on the day, Limerick District Court heard.
It was the sixth garda search at the house in a six week period, Keane’s solicitor, Ted McCarthy, said.
Keane was a known drug user at the time but Gardaí did not find anything of note in any of the searches.
Mr McCarthy said Keane’s front door was “put in and destroyed” and he “lost his temper”.
“He didn’t mean anything he said. He was wailing out loud, and he has instructed me to apologise on his behalf,” Mr McCarthy said.
“He was a known drug taker, and he attracted the attention of the gardai, that is why his house was raided each time,” the solicitor said.
“He was surrounded by a myriad of gardai and he lost the plot and he now regrets it. He lashed out, in particular towards Garda Bentley,” he continued.
Keane told gardai when they raised his house on the day in question: “That Bentley is a c**t, I’ll kidnap him.”
Addressing the injured party, Keane said: “F**k you and (another garda). I’ll fight ye in the handball alley, ye are not the only ones able to get your hands on a 9mm.”
Prosecuting Garda Sergeant Sean Moloney, Roxboro Road Garda Station, told the court gardai believed this to mean “a 9mm handgun”.
Sergeant Moloney said Keane had 62 previous convictions, mostly for motoring offences and minor drugs offences.
Judge Marian O’Leary convicted and jailed Keane for four months, and backdated the sentence to August 22nd when he was arrested and went into custody on remand without bail.
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