Consecutive prison terms for man who ripped garda’s trousers

Driving offences go back five years

A 26-YEAR-OLD Lithuanian man was given consecutive prison sentences, coming to 15 months in total, when he pleaded guilty at Monaghan District Court to a long list of charges relating mainly to road traffic offences, but also including a public order incident in which he ripped the pocket of a garda’s trousers.

Arnas Kristapaitis, with addresses at Oisín Brian and Scarna Court, Emyvale, Co Monaghan and at Mullach Glas, Monaghan Town, admitted the offences, which were committed in the north Monaghan area in 2020 and 2021.

The charges included possession of €20 of cannabis herb at Monaghan Garda Station on February 6, 2020; dangerous driving at Legacurry and at Tirnaneil, Monaghan on November 22, 2020; driving with excess alcohol, dangerous driving, having no insurance or licence and failing to produce either, all at Knockconan, Emyvale on January 9, 2021; and obstructing Garda Alan Davis, causing criminal damage by tearing the garda’s left trouser pocket, and being intoxicated, all at Knockconan on July 27, 2021. Three additional charges had been notched up for failing to appear at Monaghan District Court on dates in December 2020 and January 2021.

Sergeant Lisa McEntee said that on November 11, 2020, gardaí had observed a black 2004-registered Audi A4 driving northwards at speed on the N2-Emyvale Road out of Monaghan. Garda Connor Smyth followed this vehicle and observed it overtaking on a bend on a continuous white line at Tirnaneil.

It continued at speed at Legacurry before turning in at the Corracrin chapel carpark, in what appeared to be an attempt to evade gardaí. The driver was spoken to at this point and breathalysed returning a positive reading for alcohol. However, it later transpired that he was under the legal allowable limit.

However, the court was told that the same Audi car was stopped at Knockconan, Emyvale on January 9, 2021, when Mr Kristapaitis was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 186mg/100ml. The legal limit is only 20mg for provisional drivers like the defendant, which meant he was over nine times above the allowable limit.

“That’s quite a reading!” Judge Raymond Finnegan had remarked.

Kristapaitis also admitted dangerous driving and having no licence nor insurance on the occasion.

A separate incident on Thursday July 22, 2021, resulted in charges of obstruction, criminal damage and public intoxication.

Sgt McEntee stated that on this occasion, Garda Alan Davis and another garda attended the scene of a public order incident, again at Knockconan, Emyvale. They observed two intoxicated people, a man and woman, who were arguing with each other.

Gda David Hoey attempted to arrest the female after she became abusive towards the officers but the defendant began to interrupt and to try to take Gda Hoey’s handcuffs away. He was warned by Gda Davis not to interfere, but again attempted to pull the lady away from Gda Hoey.

When Gda Davis tried to place Kristapaitis himself in handcuffs, the defendant grabbed the front of the garda’s trousers and attempted to pull him to the ground. The pocket and side of Gda Davis’s trousers were ripped as a result of this interaction.

Sgt McEntee also confirmed that Kristapaitis had no previous convictions at the time of this incident.

Roisin Courtney, solicitor, said Arnas was only 18 when he first came to Ireland. He had an uncle in this country but his parents and siblings had all remained in Lithuania. He had fallen into “bad company” and had no work and no money, as a result of which he “went off the straight and narrow”.

Telling Ms Courtney he was sure she would explain to her client the court’s attitude to people interfering with gardaí in the course of their duty, Judge Finnegan said he was imposing six months’ imprisonment for the obstruction of Gda Davis on July 22, 2021.

Consecutive three-month sentences were handed out for the dangerous driving at Legacurry on November 22, 2020, and for the drink driving and dangerous driving at Knockconan on January 9, 2021.

The judge confirmed that all sentences totalled 15 months and were to be backdated to June 8, 2026 when Kristapaitis was taken into custody. Recognisances for any appeal included a requirement that €1,000 cash be lodged into court by an independent surety.

During her mitigation, it had also been noted by Ms Courtney that her client had “bigger fish to try upstairs”, in reference to separate charges Kristapaitis is facing at Monaghan Circuit Court that include a count of possession of drugs for sale and supply.

This is in relation to an alleged offence at the defendant’s then address at Mullach Glas, Monaghan Town, on June 16, 2020. At the October sittings of Monaghan Circuit Court the case was put back, along with many others, to that court’s January sessions.

* This article was published with support from the Court Reporting Scheme