A HOMELESS man sleeping in a recycling bin outside a popular fast food restaurant in Limerick City demanded he be brought back to jail.
After just being released from Cork prison in April, 30-year-old Albert McNamara, of no fixed abode, entered Henry Street Garda Station asking to be taken back to jail.Â
When Gardaà told the accused this would not be possible, Mr McNamara said before leaving the station that he would “break up things”, Limerick District Court was told.
He was then seen throwing a two euro coin at a Garda patrol car, and continued to do so when approached by GardaÃ, telling them to “f*ck off” and that he would “bate this coin” off them.
Following attempts to defuse the situation, a physical altercation took place between Mr McNamara and Gardaà during which pepper spray was deployed. He was subsequently arrested and brought back to Henry Street Garda Station.
Later that same month, a man, later identified as Mr McNamara, was seen sleeping on a chair in Centra O’Connell Street.
When asked to leave, he refused, telling staff to “get your f*cking hands off me”.
“I won’t f*cking leave this spot, I’ll f*cking wreck the place”, Mr McNamara said, adding, “I don’t give a f*ck, arrest me”.
Mr McNamara has 87 previous convictions, including assault, violent disorder, criminal damage, public order, road traffic, theft, and obstruction of a police officer.
He was handed a six month suspended sentence at Limerick District Court with the final four months suspended for one year for separate criminal damage offences in Mallow District Court last September. He was also given a six-week sentence suspended for 18 months for theft on the same date.
The accused’s solicitor, Tom Kiely, told the court his client has “a very serious addiction” and had asked to be taken back to Cork Prison because he was “fed up with his situation” and his “desperate circumstances”.
Whilst intoxicated, he went to Henry Street Garda Station because “he couldn’t deal with his circumstances”, Mr Kiely told the court.
Mr Kiely also said that no damage was caused to the Garda car after Mr McNamara threw the coin at it, and he has since been remanded in custody where he is “trying to deal with his issues”.
He asked the court to be as lenient as possible in sentencing.
Judge Catherine Ryan said she would take into account the accused’s guilty plea and sentenced Mr McNamara to two months imprisonment for criminal damage and one month in relation to another separate charge to run consecutively.
She also requested a progress report be made available on Mr McNamara by June 30.
He was remanded in custody to appear before Mallow District Court again later this month via video link in relation to matters there, and before Limerick District Court on June 25.
– Court Reporting Scheme