Man who attacked garda station read the bible in custody

A MAN who effectively launched ‘a one man attack’ on Dunmanway Garda Station by throwing rocks  at it and causing over €2,000 worth of damage told a judge that he has spent his time in custody reading the Bible.

Sam Davies (22) of 21 Inis Fail, Curraclough, Bandon appeared in custody at Bandon District Court after previously pleaded guilty to criminal damage and public order offences.

Insp Kay O’Donoghue told Judge James McNulty that at 4.40pm on October 7th last Mr Davies approached the front of Dunmanway Garda Station and began knocking on the front door.

‘He became quite agitated and began kicking the door with force.

He then went across the road and collected some rocks and damaged three ground floor windows of the garda station and a window frame,’ said Insp O’Donoghue.

‘Another of the rocks hit an upstairs window and hit a desk while no one was in the office.

A further rock was thrown at the CCTV camera outside, while the front door of the station became jammed due to the force used by him, and gardaí were unable to lock it.’

The full incident was captured on CCTV while two off-duty gardaí ended up restraining Mr Davies. He was later arrested and made full admissions at Bandon garda station.

Defence solicitor Plunkett Taaffe explained his client was suffering from some delusions and then went to the garda station.

‘There was no one there, he wasn’t thinking rationally,’ said Mr Taaffe, who admitted his client’s background is fairly appalling.

Judge James McNulty said it’s a ‘strange dynamic’ that Mr Davies is caught up in.

Judge McNulty requested a probation report on Mr Davies and  told him that the court will want him to do better. He asked the probation officer to find a good psychologist for Mr Davies.

‘I know of a man who might help you heal yourself. Healing is the key and I’ve great confidence that you can do great things,’ said Judge McNulty.

At the most recent court sitting in Bandon, the judge noted that Mr Davies has been in custody since last October and queried where he would live if released from custody.

Mr Davies said that the prison service is providing a place in Cork city, while the judge instructed Mr Taaffe to call them and make it a priority.

‘If he has stability he could do great things and I dare say he has learned a very hard lesson from his time in prison,’ said the judge.

Mr Davies told the judge that he has spent his time in custody reading the bible and was now reading the New Testament and had been raised religiously.

He sentenced him to six months in prison on the criminal damage to the CCTV cameras and the front door but deemed them to be served due to the fact that he has been in custody since last October.

He took into consideration the other criminal damage charges, including damage to a workstation, a window frame and windows.

Judge McNulty also directed him to enter a probation bond on the public order charge and placed him under the supervision of the probation services for one year in his own bond of €100 with no cash required.