intoxicated | 

Man said he had followed garda home and knew where lived in ‘sinister threat’

Byrne, of Rory O’Connor House, Hardwicke Street, ­Dublin, pleaded guilty to threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and public intoxication.

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A man made a “sinister and ­insidious” threat against a garda, telling him he had followed him home and “knew where he lived”, a court has heard.

Jason Byrne (29) told the garda he would not be safe in his home as he would “get him”.

Judge John Hughes gave Byrne a two-month suspended sentence for public order offences.

Byrne, of Rory O’Connor House, Hardwicke Street, ­Dublin, pleaded guilty to threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour and public intoxication.

Dublin District Court heard that when gardaí spoke to him at Hardwicke Street, Byrne was highly intoxicated and became abusive, threatening the gardaí that he would “get them”.

He said he had followed the garda home, “knew where he lived” and said the garda was “not safe in his home, that he would get him”, a sergeant told the court.

Byrne attempted to flee and continued his threats after he was apprehended. Gardaí had to physically restrain him.

Byrne had previous public ­order convictions.

It was not a typical case of threatening and abusive behaviour where someone was “just being mouthy”, Byrne’s lawyer said.

Byrne had a history of severe drug abuse and mental-health issues, he added. “He said some things that I would be 99pc sure he didn’t know what he was saying,” the lawyer said.

Judge Hughes replied: “He was not saying, ‘I know where you live, I’m going to give you a present’.”

Byrne had been using drugs from the age of 15 and became addicted to cocaine.

He was now clean, “back on the straight and narrow” and ­doing his best to get a job.

Byrne had also suffered recent family bereavements, his lawyer said.

Judge Hughes said the threats were of a “particularly sinister and insidious” nature. While they were said in the “heat of battle” and Byrne may have had no real intention of carrying them out, the judge said he was not sure the garda would have had the same confidence at the time.

He suspended the sentence for two years on condition Byrne keeps the peace and is of good behaviour.