BY DAVID FORSYTHE
A MAN arrested on suspicion of drink driving and obstruction told the arresting garda ‘I’m on benzos’ as he behaved in an agitated and threatening manner, the District Court has heard.
Court presenter Sergeant Tom Mulcahy told Bandon District Court that Jake Moynihan, 34, of Blarney Street, Cork city was arrested following a minor accident at Coolmoreen, Innishannon, on August 20th, 2023.
Garda Brian Blake said he came across two males changing a wheel on an Opel Astra car.
Gda Blake said that the car had hit a ditch.
Gda Blake told the court that Mr Moynihan appeared to be in an agitated state, was struggling to converse, had slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. Gda Blake said that he formed the opinion that Mr Moynihan was in an intoxicated state and told him he would need to take a specimen.
Gda Blake said Mr Moynihan kept interrupting him and was behaving very erratically. He said that Mr Moynihan pushed his head towards him as if he was about to head butt and told him ‘I’m on benzos’ before reaching for a tyre iron on the passenger seat of the car.
Garda Blake said he shouted at Mr Moynihan to stop and arrested him. Mr Moynihan then told Gda Blake to ‘f**k off you fat b**tard’ and said ‘it was me that was driving and I robbed the car, it’s not mine.’ He warned Gda Blake ‘you’ll get it’.
When Mr Moynihan’s blood alcohol level was tested at Bandon Garda Station the reading was 210mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood where the legal limit is 50mg.
Defence solicitor Eamonn Flemming said it was ‘not a pretty picture’ and it was clear his client was ‘on some kind of mood altering substance’ at the time. The car was his partner’s and he had permission to drive it and was fully insured. He said that Mr Moynihan had pleaded guilty to drink driving and obstruction and apologised to Garda Blake.
Mr Moynihan told the court he had secured work as a chef and was due to start in a few days’ time. He said that he was now living in rented accommodation via the Peter McVerry Trust and was the father of five children. He added: ‘I was completely wrong, I can’t take it back, I wish I could.’
The court heard that Mr Moynihan had 37 previous convictions for a variety of offences including two obstruction offences within the past three years. Judge Marie Keane said the gardaí were met with ‘appalling behaviour’.
The judge said that she would ‘very reluctantly’ consider a suspended sentence only because Mr Moynihan was due to start employment. For drink driving he was convicted and fined €250 with four months to pay and disqualified from driving for three years. For obstructing a peace officer he was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for two years.
