A Mullingar man who threatened officers from the Criminal Assets Bureau that he would use a gun on them and then shoot himself, has been fined €2,000.
Christy ‘Ditsy’ Nevin of 8 St Michael’s Park told three CAB officers and a garda that he knew where to get a gun and that he would use it, when they arrived to serve papers on him last April.
When the 55-year-old appeared before Mullingar District Court yesterday, he pleaded guilty to threatening and intimidating a social welfare officer and a revenue officer at the halting site where he lives.
Detective Garda Martin Harrington told the court how Nevin had been asleep when they arrived at 11.20am on April 29 and when he emerged from his caravan, he was wearing runners and jeans with a belt looped through the waistband.
He then removed the belt and doubled it over, telling the officers to throw the papers through the letterbox, that he wasn’t taking them.
He then stared in an aggressive manner at two of the CAB officers, telling them to get off the site.
Nevin said he had no problem getting a gun and would use it, shooting them and then shooting himself.
As three other men approached, he said he would get them to beat up the officers and he remained agitated and aggressive as they tried to calm him down.
Last month Mr Nevin was described as a ringleader in the Dalton Park riot at Mullingar and given a four year suspended sentence for violent disorder, the highest handed down by Judge Anthony Kennedy at Mullingar Circuit Court.
He could end up in jail if convicted of any other feud-related offence in the future.
The court heard that he has previous convictions dating back to 1987 for assault, assault causing harm, public order offences and drink driving at courts in Cork, Killorglin, Navan, Kells, Portlaoise, and Stratford in England.
His solicitor Patricia Cronin said he’d been groggy and confused because he’d just woken up and suffers health difficulties relating to diabetes and heart trouble.
The detective agreed that Nevin had caused no trouble at meetings prior to that day and had apologized at every meeting since.
Judge John Neilan said there was no reason for Nevin not to engage with the officers, and described the incident as “by any standards serious”.
He warned against threatening CAB and Revenue staff, as well as officers from any other government department and imposed a fine of €1,000 on each offence.
He decided not to jail Nevin, though the option of a five month sentence was also open to him.
