Man who threatened Garda while covered in blood sentenced

A father of five who threatened a Garda with a knife while he was covered in his own blood has been given a three-year suspended sentence for this and two assaults on two other gardaí.

James O'Driscoll (33) of Champion's Avenue, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to production of a knife during the course of a dispute and threatening to kill Garda Neil Cepeda at an apartment complex on East Road, East Wall on February 18th, 2012.

He also pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting Garda James King in the Mater Hospital on June 29th, 2012 and assaulting Garda Shona Moran in Crown Alley on July 5th, 2012.

O’Driscoll, who has 74 previous convictions for road traffic offences, criminal damage, public order, theft and robbery, was on bail for the first offence when he committed the second two.

The court heard that O’Driscoll’s blood was found on the floors and doors of the top landing of the apartment complex and inside his own flat. The blood had come from an injury to his thumb which he had caused himself after nicking a vein.

Michael Bowman SC, defending, told the court it had been a small cut but a lot of blood had squirted from the wound.

A one-year-old child was later found standing in the hallway of O’Driscoll’s apartment, while a three-year-old was sleeping in another bedroom.

Two blood-covered knives were found in the bathroom along with three ecstasy tablets.

Garda John Paul Moriarty told John Byrne BL, prosecuting, that Garda Cepeda came to the apartment complex after receiving a call from other residents.

He spotted O’Driscoll on the landing with the knife in his hand and identified himself as a Garda before the man ran at him shouting; “I am going to fucking kill you.”

Garda Cepeda, fearing for his safety, sprayed O’Driscoll in the face with CS spray before he returned to his patrol car and radioed for assistance.

Gardaí­ later called to O’Driscoll’s home and sprayed him again with pepper spray after the man refused to show officers his hands. The gardaí­ then discovered the two children having searched the flat.

O’Driscoll was arrested and taken to the local station where he later wrote in blood on a prison cell wall.

Garda Moriarty agreed with Mr Bowman that O'Driscoll told gardaí­ that a number of youths in the complex had been smoking cannabis and urinating in the landing outside his home.

He had a row with them that evening and “clipped one of them around the ear”. It was these youths that had called the gardaí­ to say that O’Driscoll was armed with a knife.

The Garda accepted that all the officers, including Garda Cepeda, were in plain clothes that night but added that they had clearly identified themselves as gardaí­.

Counsel told Garda Moriarty that his client accepts that although he was in a heightened state of distress that night, he did “completely over-react” to the situation.

Mr Bowman said Garda­ Cepeda, King and Moran didn’t join the gardaí­ to be treated in this way by his client but asked the court to accept that it has not deterred their ability to continue working in the force.

Judge Mary Ellen Ring had previously adjourned the case to allow O'Driscoll to continue his drug rehabilitation.

She also ordered a report from the Probation Service to ascertain his suitability for the Restorative Justice Programme.

She noted on Tuesday that all reports from the services were favourable and outlined how O’Driscoll is drug free and working as a catering assistant. He also fully co-operated with the restorative justice programme.

Judge Ring said O’Driscoll was reaching a fork in the road, one which has left him with a significant number of convictions or the other law abiding road. She suspended the three-year term on strict conditions.