A man followed a garda around a court room shouting that he hoped she would “get run over by a bus”, a court has heard.
John Gavin (31) of Moyne Park, Moyne Road, Baldoyle, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to threatening Garda Sgt Amanda Flood at Four Courts, Chancery Street, on May 29th, 2015.
Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Gavin to 20 months’ imprisonment, to run consecutive to a six-year sentence he is currently serving after being convicted by a jury of an offence of rape.
Garda Sgt Ronan Walton told Diarmuid Collins BL, prosecuting, that on the date in question, Gavin attended a hearing during a court vacation in which a judge revoked his bail.
Gavin started shouting that the law was corrupt. Sgt Flood, who was the only garda in the court room, tried to talk to him and he became aggressive towards her and began to shout obscenities while following her around the court.
“I hope you get run over by a bus,” he told Sgt Flood. He also told her he would “smash this court up” and said “I hope you die roaring”, relenting only when additional gardaí arrived.
Victim impact statement
In a victim impact statement, which was read out in court, Sgt Flood said no incident had affected her as much as this one in her 15 years as a garda. She said she moved back to her family home for a few weeks after the incident.
Gavin has 108 previous convictions, including convictions for assault causing harm and violent disorder. He is currently serving a six-year sentence for a conviction by a jury of rape and he had been scheduled for release on October 18th, 2021.
Addressing the court, Gavin apologised and said his actions were very disrespectful. “I don’t know what happened, I wasn’t taking my medication,” Gavin said.
Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, said his client had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was taking anti-psychotic medication. Gavin is married and has three children.
Judge Nolan said that Gavin “looks to be a powerfully built man” and that it was probably beyond the sergeant to restrain him. He said he was satisfied that even the most resilient of people would have been intimidated.
He said it was “unfortunate that there weren’t people there to save Mr Gavin from himself”, but that everyone was responsible for their own actions.
