A MAN who, it is alleged, equipped himself with a large lump hammer and other tools to smash the locks of e-scooters over a weekend claimed he was looking for his son’s e-scooter when he was brought before Galway District Court.
Judge Fiona Lydon heard that Martin Barrett, who lives in sheltered accommodation, was found by Gardaí in possession of an e-scooter, a broken lock and chain and the large lump hammer when they caught up with him in Woodquay after he was identified by a member of the public.
Garda Sgt Christy Brown gave evidence that Barrett had been observed interfering with scooters at a number of locations around the centre of Galway on Sunday September 28. The Gardaí objected to Barrett being given bail as he had a very poor record in this area. 16 bench warrants had been issued for him when he failed to turn up in Court in the past. He had 86 previous convictions, 49 of which were for offences committed while he was on bail.
Olivia Moran solr (defending ) said that her client resided at a Housing First address in the city and he had serious drug and alcohol issues to deal with. She argued that despite his record he had been adhering to his latest bail conditions. His son had asked him to pick up his e-scooter and this is what he thought he was doing when apprehended by the Gardaí.
Her client was 46, had six children and had a long history of drug abuse, she pleaded, but added that Barrett was abiding by the directions of his social worker and was in rehab “trying to get back on track”.
Considering the bail application Judge Lydon said the State can now keep a good eye on drug abusers and conditions such as agreeing to urine analysis and attending GPs could be made conditional in bail conditions. She put the case back for Gardaí to compile a list of strict bail conditions which would have to be observed if bail was granted.
This article is funded by Comisiún na Meán.
