A homeless man who spat blood at gardaí when he was arrested for breach of the peace was given a suspended jail sentence yesterday.
John Fay (40), who previously lived in Sherrard Street and Finglas in Dublin, denied obstructing gardaí.
Dublin District Court heard he was arrested on January 2nd last in Marlborough Street, Dublin, after he became abusive to a garda who approached him about drinking in the street.
When he was handcuffed, he became increasingly abusive. This continued when he was put into a Garda van, which he kicked repeatedly.
When the back door of the van was opened, he was spitting blood through the internal wire grill and had to be carried into the station cell where he told one garda he would "bite my lip again" so he could spit more blood, the court was told.
In the cell he continued being abusive and gardaí had to use a riot shield to approach him so that he could be searched.
Fay denied he had been abusive or had spat blood at any time. The only time he kicked the van was when he stepped on his open shoelace as he was getting out of the vehicle.
He admitted a separate breach of the peace on Sackville Place on June 26th last and another at Talbot Street on July 24th last year when he was fighting with another man. The court heard he had been living rough and in a nearby hostel at the time.
He had 41 previous convictions, many for similar offences.
Judge Bridget Reilly imposed jail sentences totalling three months, suspended for a year on condition that he received drug treatment and did not come to the attention of gardaí.