A WOMAN who called gardaí ‘f*****s and paedophiles’ in front of customers at a busy restaurant in Bandon was ordered by a judge to ‘sort things out’.
Rosemary Howick (44), with an address at 4 Castleview, Kilbrittain pleaded guilty at Bandon District Court to resisting arrest and two public order charges.
Sgt Eimear O’Connell told the court that at 4.45pm on April 30th last gardaí in Bandon received a number of reports about a female kicking out at people in the Riverview Shopping Centre.
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‘On arrival they found her to be very drunk and a danger to herself. She was shouting and roaring and told gardaí to f** off and began calling arresting gardaí ‘f*****s and paedophiles,’ said Sgt O’Connell. She also grabbed Gda Brian Blake’s radio.’
The court heard that Ms Howick has 44 previous convictions including nine for being drunk in a public place and 11 for using or engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour.
Defence solicitor Plunkett Taaffe said his client, who is bipolar, was in the middle of a psychosis during this incident and she realises now she needs to seek treatment for alcohol issues.
‘She asking for some assistance and she is only realising now she has an issue and she wishes to apologise for her behaviour,’ said Mr Taaffe.
Addressing the court, Ms Howick said the last ten years of her life have been completely chaotic. She started drinking and taking drugs and said she doesn’t want this any more, adding: ‘I want to go back to Tabor Lodge where I was treated before.’
The court heard that this offence was committed while she was on a three-month suspended sentence for another offence.
Judge Carroll said she was triggering this sentence and said she was quite satisfied that the court had given the defendant many opportunities.
She activated the three-month prison term which she backdated to May 7th when Ms Howick first went into custody. She sentenced her to three months in prison on the resisting arrest charge, suspending the last two months of it for 18 months.
‘The condition of the suspended sentence is that you attend for alcohol addiction treatment and I will ask the Prison Governor to have you medically and psychologically assessed,’ said Judge Carroll.
She also sentenced her to three months in prison on the more serious of the public order charges, suspending two months of it. The judge took into consideration the drunk in public charge.
‘I really want you to sort things out as you’ve been causing a lot of trouble in Bandon,’ warned Judge Carroll. ‘I also hope you can read up on your condition while in custody.’
