WEAPONS CHARGE | 

Assault victim found lying on Dublin pub floor had Stanley knife in pocket

Gardai found Josh Byrne (30) lying on the floor and staff said he had been assaulted in a fight.

Yesterday at 13:50

An assault victim who had a Stanley knife in his pocket when gardaí found him lying “prone” on a pub floor has been jailed for a month.

Josh Byrne (30) maintained he had the knife for his work in construction but Judge John Hughes found him guilty of a weapons offence and imposed the sentence.

Byrne had pleaded not guilty to unlawful possession of the knife. Garda Thomas Byrne told Dublin District Court he was called to a panic alarm activation at a pub on Lombard Street after midnight on May 2 last year.

On arriving, he saw Byrne lying on the floor and staff said he had been assaulted in a fight. Byrne was conscious but visibly intoxicated and when asked what happened, shouted “get the f**k away from me”.

When he turned over, the garda saw a tool handle in his back pocket and this was a Stanley knife with a three-inch blade. When asked why he had it, he repeated “get the f**k away from me”.

Byrne told the court he had the knife for his work as a labourer. He was homeless at the time, sleeping rough in shop doorways and had nowhere to keep his belongings.

Byrne had just been assaulted and was “disorientated” and reacted badly when the garda roused him, his lawyer said.

Gda Byrne said the incident happened in the early hours of Sunday and there would have been no construction happening at that time.

The accused had an alcohol addiction at the time but was sober now, he was working full-time as a scaffolder and his partner was pregnant, his lawyer said.

He was in homeless accommodation and seeking something more stable, the court heard.