A young Ballybane man who stole alcohol by stuffing it down his pants before being caught in an intoxicated state, and abusing gardai by calling them scumbags, will have to wait another three months before he knows his fate.
At Galway District Court on Monday 19-year-old Aidan Diveney with an address at 82 Castlepark, Ballybane, and 41 Glenbaun, Ballybane, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, one count of tresspass, and a number of public order offences.
Inspector Ernie White told the court that on August 3, 2010, the defendant entered the Centra supermarket in Doughiska where he took a bottle of alcohol and stuffed it down his tracksuit pants. On the same day he went to Lidl in Oranmore and stole a bottle of Sambucka. The following day Diveney was found by gardai in a very drunk state and walking on the road at St James Road in Mervue. Inspector White said that when approached Diveney became very abusive to gardai, calling them “scumbags”, and was particularly abusive to Garda Lorraine Quirke.
On July 24 last at 6am gardai on patrol were driving down Lough Atalia when they observed the defendant in the front garden of a house. “He was going at a scooter,” explained Inspector White before adding that Diveney then left the garden, walked down the road and and was arrested.
Defence solicitor Olivia Traynor that her client has had a particularly bad year, having developed a serious addiction to heroin, however, she said that he is now addressing those issues. “I’m asking if the court can work with his man,” said Ms Traynor.
Judge Anderson then adjourned the matter to February 7 for the preparation of a probation report.
