‘IF he had purchased petrol it would have been much worse,’ a solicitor said, in defence of a man who threw ‘a flaming rag’ into a car he believed was owned by his ex’s husband.
Martin Keating (34) of Main Street, Castletownbere, pleaded guilty through his solicitor, Colette McCarthy, to a charge of causing criminal damage to a window and a wing mirror of a Skoda Fabia that was parked at Main Street, Castletownbere on June 18th last; and a charge of committing arson.
Insp Emmet Daly said the woman parked her car at Main Street at about 8.40pm and subsequently reported that the window had been broken.
In the meantime, he said a witness saw Martin Keating walking out of a bar and placing a flaming rag on the back seat of the car.
The inspector said a member of the fire service was in the vicinity and responded to the situation, and quenched the flame.
After viewing CCTV footage, the inspector said the accused could be seen going to a service station and buying diesel and matches.
Judge James McNulty agreed with the solicitor’s assessment of the situation saying: ‘If he had poured petrol, there would have been a conflagration and it would have caused much more serious damage.’
On the charge of causing criminal damage, Judge McNulty fined the accused €500 and instructed him to pay the injured party €1,000 in compensation straight away, plus a further €1,500 within 14 days.
On the arson charge, Judge McNulty sentenced the accused to eight-months imprisonment, but Ms McCarthy asked for recognisances to be fixed so the accused was not taken into custody.
Insp Daly informed the court that the accused has six previous convictions and had previously been given the benefit of a probation order.
In mitigation, Ms McCarthy said her client believed the car belonged to the husband of the lady with whom he had had a relationship.
‘He was after finishing a relationship with this woman, who had left her husband. They had been together for an extended period and he was also having hassle from the husband for an extended period of time,’ the solicitor added.
‘He thought it was his car. On this night, he had alcohol taken and saw the car and saw red. If he had purchased petrol it would have been much worse,’ she concluded.
Colette McCarthy told the court that her client cares full-time for his grandmother and helps to run her public house.
‘He has a high level of intelligence but may not be focused in the right direction,’ she added. ‘It was a reaction to what was happening in his life at the time.’
Ms McCarthy said her client had received treatment for drug dependency but had replaced it with alcohol.
Judge McNulty said the arson charge was too serious to be dealt with by way of fine, saying: ‘His gross social irresponsibility warrants a custodial sentence.’
The eight-month sentence is now under appeal.
