Man sentenced after smearing 'tiocfaidh ar la' on Derry police cell wall
32-year-old bus passenger caught with class B drugs blames holiday custody ‘frustration’ for the damage
A man with an address in Limerick defecated in a police cell and wrote 'tiocfaidh ar la' on the wall of the police cell Derry Magistrate's Court heard today.
John Haggerty (32) of Glenmar in Limerick admitted criminal damage to a cell on December 25 2024.
He also admitted possessing class B drugs on December 23 valued at £675.
The court heard that police received information that a passenger on the Aircoach coming to Derry had drugs in his possession.
Police were waiting at the bus depot and searched Haggerty and found 15 grammes of class B drug.
Then on December 25 it was noted that the defendant had defecated in his cell and written tiocfaidh ar la on the wall.
The cost of a deep clean was put at £93.
A defence solicitor said that the cell incident was 'unpleasant' for staff but grew out of 'frustration' at being in custody over Christmas.
The defendant was sentenced to three months in custody suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay £93 in compensation.