Man pulled down his pants and invited the gardaí to search his ass

A DUNMANWAY man who pulled down his trousers and bared his backside outside a bar told gardaí he had five kilos of heroin up his ass and invited them to search him.

The same man later went on to smear his blood on the walls of a garda cell and wrote a message in that blood to one of the arresting gardaí.

Daniel Huggins (29) of 6 Sam Maguire Cottages, Mallabracka, Dunmanway appeared at Clonakilty District Court where he contested two assault charges but pleaded guilty to two public order charges, as well as a charge of criminal damage of a cell at Clonakilty Garda Station.

Gda Kevin Kennedy told the court that on October 30th last year, he and Gda Mike Cronin called to The Shamrock Bar in Market Square at around 7:50pm after receiving a call from a staff member about criminal damage and a disturbance at the bar.

He said that on entering the bar he saw the defendant whose hand and fingers were bleeding and he was shouting and was very drunk.

‘I asked him to step outside so we could see his injuries, but he was very abusive and I tried to calm him down. Outside he pulled down his trousers and bared his backside in full view of members of the public and said there was five kilos of heroin up his ass and to search him,’ said Gda Kennedy.

Mr Huggins was then arrested and placed in the rear of a patrol car but told Gda Kennedy that he would bite his ear off and ‘fuck him up the ass’. ‘He then said to Gda Cronin that he would rape his mother,’ said Gda Kennedy.

When they arrived at Clonakilty Garda Station to process Mr Huggins, Gda Kennedy said that he threw a blood-stained tissue in a ball at him and hit him in the face. The court heard that while Gda Cronin was taking Mr Huggins to his cell, he smeared his blood on Gda Cronin’s fleece and stab vest.

Giving evidence, Gda Cronin said that when he saw Mr Huggins in the bar there was blood coming from his left hand after a glass panel in an alcove was broken and that he was very drunk.

‘We asked him to step outside so we could see his injuries, but he kept taunting Gda Kennedy to arrest him and refused to let us examine him,’ said Gda Cronin.

‘In the patrol car, he turned his attention to me and said he would anally rape my mother.’

The court heard that when Mr Huggins was placed in the garda cell at Clonakilty Garda Station, he wrote ‘Fuck you Kevin’ on the wall using his own blood.

Defence solicitor Ray Hennessy argued whether throwing a rolled-up tissue or smearing blood on a stab vest constituted assault. He also queried if his client was given access to medical treatment while in custody.

Gda Elizabeth Grimes, who was the member in charge at the station on that night, said Mr Huggins told her he did not want medical treatment when he was asked.

Sgt Alec Butler said Mr Huggins was very aggressive on the night which was aimed at both Gda Kennedy and Gda Cronin and that he stepped in to calm the situation down.

Mr Huggins told the court that he was totally out of order regarding the other charges but denied the two assault charges.

‘I was out of order, but I didn’t assault them,’ he said.

Judge James McNulty sentenced him to six months in prison on each assault charge.

He also sentenced him to six months in prison on the criminal damage charge and two months in prison for ‘his vulgar conduct’ on the streets of Dunmanway.

A charge of being drunk in a public place was taken into consideration and recognisances for an appeal were fixed in the defendant’s own bond of €100, with no cash required.