A man who was pointing a pellet gun at motorists in broad daylight in Killarney before Christmas has been jailed for two months.
46-year-old Kenneth Fitzpatrick, of Beech Avenue, Cronin’s Wood, Killarney, also squared up to a garda sergeant and flicked a lit cigarette at him, in a separate incident.
Tralee District Court heard that on 21st December last year, gardaí responded to a report that a man on the Port Road in Killarney was carrying a firearm, pointing it at motorists as they drove by.
Gardaí saw him at Ardshanavooley, pointing the firearm, which turned out to be a spring-loaded pellet gun, and arrested him.
He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a realistic imitation firearm, in relation to that incident.
Mr Fitzpatrick’s solicitor, Pádraig O’Connell, said the pellet gun was bought at a local souvenir shop, and could just as easily have been bought by an American tourist.
Mr O’Connell said it was because of Mr Fitzpatrick’s enthusiasm for life that he was waving it around, but he did not threaten anyone nor caused any damage with it.
Mr Fitzpatrick was convicted and fined €400 for possession of the pellet gun.
On a separate occasion, on 31st January this year, gardaí received reports of a man roaring and shouting on High Street, Killarney.
Detective Sergeant David Howard, who was on beat patrol at the time, saw him trying to gain access to a premises.
When Sgt Howard approached him, Mr Fitzpatrick asked, “What the f*** are you looking at?”
When Sgt Howard, who was in plain clothes at the time, identified him as a member of An Garda Síochána, Mr Fitzpatrick raised his fists as if to fight him, and flicked a lit cigarette at him.
Mr Fitzpatrick’s solicitor, Pádraig O’Connell, said Sgt Howard is a robust member of An Garda Síochána and he was quite sure he would not have been intimidated by Mr Fitzpatrick, who Mr O’Connell described as “more mouth than ability”.
Judge David Waters sentenced him to two months in prison on a charge of assaulting or obstructing a peace officer, arising from this incident, to which he pleaded guilty.
