If defendants do not abide by the rules of a suspended sentence then they are sending themsleves to jail, warned a district court judge who sent a taxi fare dodger and repeat public order offender to jail for five months after he failed to take the chances given to him.
With a history of not paying for taxi fares and a number of public order offences it was not long before Brian Curran (42 ) of Knocknagreine, Furbo, Galway, found himself in hot water again. Curran appeared before Judge Mary Fahy at Galway District Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to being intoxicated and threatening and abusive behaviour at Salthill Garda Station on December 8, 2010.
Inspector Sean Glynn told the court that at 10pm the defendant was found lying on the ground in the car park of Salthill Garda Station. He said that Curran had been unable to stand up and that there had been a number of people in the public office.
The court further heard that Curran has 32 previous convictions which include a five month suspended sentence for theft offences; the period of suspension was still active when the latest public order offences were committed. The five month suspended sentence had been imposed on Curran for dishonestly making off without paying for a taxi fare, to the value of €26.05, when he arrived at his home on September 11, 2009. A number of concurrent sentences, also suspended, were imposed for dishonestly making off without paying for alcohol obtained at Busker Brown’s, Cross Street, on August 13, 2009, dishonestly making off without paying for a taxi fare at Knocknagreine on October 23, 2009, and threatening and abusive behavior and dishonestly making off without paying for a taxi fare to the value of €28 at Knocknagreine on November 22, 2009.
At a previous court sitting in March last year, it was revealed that on August 13, 2009 at 8.30pm Curran had ordered the drinks at Busker Brown’s, drank them, and left without paying. However, he had been followed by a diligent member of staff and was arrested by gardai. The court also heard that on November 22, 2009, the defendant had refused to pay for a taxi fare to his home. However, the worst incident was on September 11 at 9pm when Curran got a taxi to his home but along the way he had asked the driver to lend him €10 for chips, telling him that he had money in the house. However, when the kind-hearted taxi driver brought him to his final destination Curran refused to pay the fare, and to add insult to injury, also refused to pay the driver back the €10 for the chips.
In court this week Judge Fahy commented that she has given numerous warnings to defendants regarding suspended sentences and breaching conditions set by the court.
“I want him to see now this is what happens. These people are actually just tearing it, they get a chance and it is up to them to abide by the rules. If they don’t they are giving themselves a sentence,” she said.
Judge Fahy then reactivated the five month sentence for the older matters and imposed a further two month sentence, to run concurrently, for the threatening and abusive behaviour at Salthill Garda Station and a fine of €100, payable forthwith, for being intoxicated. Leave to appeal was granted
