A JUVENILE who dragged a female garda into the patrol car, after pulling her hair, and then pushed her back out onto the ground, is ‘clearly a boy out of control,’ a judge said last week, banning him from visiting Dunmanway, Bandon or Clonakilty.
‘He seems to do what he wants, when he wants, and his parents don’t seem to care,’ said Judge James McNulty, after hearing the details of the case.
The juvenile – who is in his mid teens – was charged with assaulting gardaí, assaulting three other people, theft of a mobile phone, being drunk in a public place.
He pleaded guilty to the possession of cannabis and criminal damage as the court heard that he had urinated and vomited in a garda cell.
The first incident occurred on April 13th last when the youth was charged with assaulting a man and his girlfriend who were on their way home after finishing work in a bar. He claimed it was over money owed to his brother. The defendant punched the man in the face and injured his girlfriend also and stole his mobile phone.
When gardaí arrived on the scene, the juvenile tried to run away but was eventually caught and placed in a patrol car. He told the garda that there was ‘f**k all’ the garda could do to him, because he (the defendant) was a juvenile.
The court heard that when a female garda tried to take his mobile phone, he pulled her hair and dragged her into the patrol car. He then pushed her out on the ground in an attempt to escape. His behaviour was described as ‘very aggressive.’
The court heard that when he was brought to the garda station he continued to be aggressive and told gardaí ‘f*** off – I know the law’. The gardaí found cannabis in his pocket jacket. Just two days later, he was arrested again after gardaí on patrol spotted him with a group of teenagers. He shouted abuse at them, while recording them on his mobile phone. He was asked several times to desist and leave the area but was eventually arrested.
At the garda station, he was found in the possession of cannabis and a grinder and while gardaí were dealing with him, he spat at two different gardaí and continued to lash out and be abusive.
While in a garda cell, he urinated on the floors and walls of the toilet and vomited on the floor. The court heard that when his mother arrived at the garda station she offered to get a mop to clean up his mess, because it was so bad.
The juvenile was then spotted by gardaí on May 1st squaring up to two males outside a fast food restaurant. He was arrested for being drunk in a public place.
Four days later, he assaulted the brother of the man he had previously assaulted on April 13th. The man had been walking when he met the defendant who punched him on the left side of his face and then wrapped a silver watch around his knuckles and punched him a second time. The injured party reported the incident to gardaí.
In convicting him of all offences, Judge McNulty directed that a probation report be prepared. He called on the juvenile’s parents to co-operate with the probation services.
‘Clearly there is a boy out of control here, who seems to do what he wants, when he wants, and his parents don’t seem to care. The idea that he would accost an older man coming from work at night and assault him and take a phone and threaten them and threaten others over the phone, and over alleged money owed, begs a lot of questions. What money was due and for what purpose?’ said Judge McNulty, who added that it warrants a closer look.
He also said he was ‘astonished’ at the level of intoxication of the youth on a recurring basis and said that his behaviour at a garda station made him wonder if he is using drugs, which he said might explain his level of aggression. The boy’s aggression ‘knows no boundaries and doesn’t cease after caution or arrest’, he noted. ‘The manner in which he spoke to gardaí was grossly offensive also.’
Judge McNulty directed that random urinalysis should be arranged as part of the probation report and he also amended the bail conditions, which includes a curfew from 8pm at night. He prohibited him from visiting Dunmanway, Bandon or Clonakilty.
‘He needs to stay home and under supervision,’ said Judge McNulty.
The juvenile was remanded on continuing bail to appear in court in the new year but gardaí were given liberty to re-enter all matters if any bail conditions are breached.
