A Latvian man who brandished his gun at people who were gathered in his hotel room in the early hours of the morning in order to make them leave faced unauthorised possession of a firearm and section two assault charges on two men at Belmullet District Court on Wednesday.
Janis Circenis, 1 College Park, Belmullet, pleaded guilty to all charges which occurred in the Broadhaven Bay Hotel, Belmullet, on September 28 2008.
Garda Eneas McNulty outlined that at 7.15am he was notified about an incident at the hotel and upon arrival was met by Sean Cafferkey and Stephen Cawley who were in a shocked state after a weapon was pointed at them by Circenis in room 130.
Garda McNulty explained that the defendant and his girlfriend had booked into the hotel for the night, where subsequently a number of people congregated in the room chatting and drinking. The garda was informed by the injured parties that at 6.30am the defendant jumped out of the ground floor window of the hotel, went to his car, came back into the room where he produced a firearm and threatened the two injured parties, who subsequently contacted the gardaí.
Circenis had left the hotel by the time the gardaí arrived, however when Garda McNulty returned to the station, the defendant was already there where he co-operated with gardaí and brought them to waste ground near his residence, where the gun was recovered.
The gun, which was presented in court, and was sent to ballistics for analysis, can only fire blanks.
Defending solicitor John Gordon said that the 19-year-old man had purchased the gun for €50 in Latvia and brought it into the jurisdiction in his car. The defendant claimed that he had the gun in his car as he was fearful of being targeted by criminals while driving his car back from Latvia to Ireland.
The solicitor said that a number of people had gathered in the room, however they were making noise and disturbing other guests, with the defendant informed by hotel staff that he would have to foot the bill for the extra people in the room. According to Mr Gordon, Circenis had tried on a number of occasion to get those gathered to leave as he wanted to go to sleep and when he heard that he might have to pay for them “he lost his head”, retrieved the gun which he brandished, and then left the room.
The court heard how the defendant has been living in Ireland for the past year and a half with his sister and mother, is employed as a butcher, and has no previous convictions. Mr Gordon said that the defendant is well liked and respected in the community and read out a reference from Circenis’ employer who described the man as conscientious and diligent.
Judge Mary Devins adjourned the case for sentencing until Belmullet District Court on November 11.
