BREAKING: Garda produced gun in Co Kildare estate to 'prevent cleaver attack on handcuffed man'
Incident
A garda produced his legally held firearm in County Kildare village, Naas District Court was told.
The garda said he did so because a man was approached with a meat cleaver and he believed the man intended to seriously injure another male who was lying face down, having been arrested.
Before the court was John Mooney, 50, whose address was given as 12 Ashbrook, Derrinturn.
He is being prosecuted for possessing the cleaver, measuring about 30cms by 10cms, at Ashgrove, Derrinturn, on September 2. He was denied bail after the gardaí objected.
Gda Micheál Mangan said he was one of two gardaí who attended the scene and were making an arrest when the defendant appeared carrying a meat cleaver or knife over his head.
Gda Mangan said the defendant was highly agitated and was making threats to harm an individual who was handcuffed and on the ground.
The garda said that a highly volatile situation had developed and neighbours were coming out of nearby residences.
“He was trying to get at the person being arrested; he got to within five metres. I said I was an armed garda.”
Gda Mangan added the defendant “continued to refuse to drop it” and “I had a gun in my hand.”
He said the incident lasted for less than two minutes and he thought he would have to use necessary force before the defendant eventually went back into the house some 100 metres away.
The defendant returned a number of times but without the cleaver.
There were just two gardaí at the location though others had been summoned.
About ten minutes later the defendant was arrested outside his home.
Describing the incident as a “developing situation”, Gda Mangan said there were a lot of highly agitated people in the estate.
Asked by Judge Desmond Zaidan, the garda said the background to the incident was 20 to 30 high profile incidents including arson attacks and the discharge of a firearm.
“It is between a number of families and has been ongoing for a number of years and has accelerated more recently,” said Gda Mangan.
Opposing a bail application made by solicitor David Powderly, Gda Mangan if the defendant was released there would be serious consequences for others.
Cross examined by Mr Powderly, the garda said it’s believed the defendant is directing retaliation and he agreed that between seven and eight people had arrived in four cars.
He said he was not denying the defendant’s windows had been broken and he may have left the house with a weapon to defend himself but “he was like a lunatic.”
Gda Mangan said the defendant was well aware he was a garda and the garda car had the siren and blue lights activated. He said he accepted that the detained man was one of the seven or eight.
He accepted that the defendant’s anger was not directed towards him but “I couldn’t let him at this man, who was handcuffed and on the ground lying flat down with a garda on him.”
He said the defendant’s only purpose was to do damage to the arrested person who would have “been seriously injured or worse.”
He said a lot of incidents had been reported to the gardaí, not necessarily by intended targets but by a parent of someone else living in a property.
He had no doubt that this was not a one off event but had been fuelled by other incidents, the details of which are unknown to the court
Mr Powderly said the sole purpose of these was to go to the defendant’s home where there were children. Mr Powderly said the defendant's family had been the subject of a campaign and his house has been targeted.
He said the defendant’s son and a cousin had been confronted by four men wearing balaclavas and his parents' house had been attacked. He said the defendant was prepared to stand up to them.
Judge Desmond Zaidan said the defendant enjoyed the presumption of innocence and he noted that Mr Powderly had depicted it as a one-sided dispute. Judge Zaidan said the objections to bail were well founded.
He said there is a threat to the defendant and to public safety and strict bail conditions would not be appropriate. He said the defendant is entitled to have the investigation expedited within reason and a file sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
He adjourned the case to September 5 when the defendant will appear via video link.