A round-up to today's other court stories in brief
Man drove into woman's living room
A man who caused €20,000 damage when he drove his BMW almost into his former girlfriend's living room has been given a one-year sentence by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Eric Felton had earlier sent her a text saying "If you f . . . with me, you'll have my car in your sitting room", but she didn't believe he would carry out the perceived threat.
The court heard the couple were back on good terms and wanted the charges dropped.
Felton (48), Mayfield Terrace, Ballinteer, who pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the house last March 24th, had denied his involvement when arrested by gardaí.
Judge Katherine Delahunt commented: "Your initial denial of involvement seems foolish when your car was virtually in the front room of this woman's house." Judge Delahunt heard that Felton had served three months in custody in relation to this charge and she suspended the balance of the one-year sentence on condition that he enter into a good behaviour bond for a period of three years.
Garda Brian Foran told Desmond Zaidan, prosecuting, that Felton had six previous convictions for crimes such as arson, road traffic and public order offences.
Judge praises youth institution
A judge said yesterday he was impressed with the facilities at the State's main prison for young offenders, St Patrick's Institution.
Judge Conal Gibbons said that on a visit to the detention centre, which is next to Mountjoy Prison in Dublin, he was surprised at how much was being done to provide education for the male offenders, who are under 21.
He was speaking during a case in which Brian Waldron (19), originally from Ballybough, Dublin, and now of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to stealing a car in Irishtown last August 18th - his eighth car theft. He was sentenced to six months in St Patrick's.
Man jailed for assaulting woman
A man, who claimed he escaped to Ireland after finding five members of his family murdered in their home in Nigeria, has been jailed for four years for assaulting his estranged girlfriend and mother of their child.
Olatunbosun Salawu (21), Clonliffe Road, Ballybough also allegedly tried to hang himself in his Dublin apartment after he assaulted the woman on December 10th, 2004, but was saved by a friend and taken to hospital.
Sentence on burglar increased
A Dublin man who with others burgled the homes of two families, during which a 20-year-old woman was threatened at knife-point, has had his five-year sentence increased by three years by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Granting an application by the DPP yesterday for an increase in sentence imposed on Simon O'Connor, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, presiding, said the families involved were "severely traumatised" and their suffering should be recognised by the court.
O'Connor, Clanawley Road, Donnycarney, had pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and aggravated burglary at Blackheath Road, Clontarf, on January 30th, 2004, and to burglary of publican Mark Grainger's family home in Portmarnock and theft of his car on March 7th.