Court Told Tullamore Man Was Under Influence Of Drugs Before Escape
Thursday, 15 July 2010
A TULLAMORE heroin addict who was at the centre of a dramatic incident in the local courthouse in May was sentenced to six months in prison last week.
Stephen Power (23), 104 Arden View, was convicted of a number of offences, including one related to his escape from the courthouse during a sitting of Tullamore District Court on May 19.
The defendant, who is currently serving a three-month sentence in the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise, had six months added on to that sentence last week by Judge Gerard Haughton.
When he appeared in custody last Wednesday, Sgt Graham Kavanagh said that he had broken two windows, one upstairs and one downstairs at 231 Arden View on February 16 last, resulting in €200 worth of damage.
Sgt Kavanagh also said that five days later the defendant met Michael Kane at the Mallet public house and got into a disagreement with him over money and punched Kane in the face.
Three days after that, between 3 and 4pm on February 24, Michael Kane Snr and Michael Kane Jnr were travelling out of Arden View and the defendant broke the back window of their van with a wheel brace. On a separate date he damaged a vehicle belonging to Kenneth Kane, said Sgt Kavanagh.
Replying to Mr Donal Farrelly, solicitor for the defendant, Sgt Kavanagh agreed that the man had a substance abuse problem.
Inspector Joseph Prendergast then gave details of a theft from Leavy's Centra on May 16 when Power, with another person, distracted a shop assistant and stole a bottle of wine.
Inspector Prendergast also recalled the incident on May 19 when the defendant, during a legal consultation with his solicitor, made his escape out through a window at Tullamore courthouse and then resisted arrest afterwards.
The Inspector added that the man had 73 previous convictions and the most recent ones were for public order offences, road traffic offences, assault and possession of drugs.
Mr Farrelly told the court that most of the previous convictions related to substance abuse and his client had 'long sought help' for his problem.
The recent events occurred at a time when he was using drugs and he was now on a methadone programme in the Midlands Prison.
The solicitor said that his client was under the influence of substances and was agitated on the occasion of his escape from the courthouse.
Mr Farrelly asked Judge Haughton to give his client credit for his early plea and repeated that he was trying to deal with his problem.
Judge Haughton said he would be imposing a six-month sentence and would not backdate it but it would be served from the date of the court last week.
When the defendant appeared in court on May 19 last and made his escape, he had a flesh wound to his head when he was brought back to court and later the same day, when he was brought to Tullamore garda station, an ambulance had to be called to bring him to Accident & Emergency in Tullamore Hospital.
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