Father pleads guilty to criminal damage to garda car
A FATHER-of-two who jumped on the bonnet of a garda patrol car when gardai came to investigate a verbal dispute between him and his wife has been jailed for three months.
Mantas Simkas, aged 34, was sentenced after a judge said the events of the night outside a house in Clondalkin were “appalling.”
Blanchardstown District Court
Simkas, with an address at Orchard Lodge, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to criminal damage to a garda car, public drunkenness and engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting words or behaviour at Ninth Lock Road, Clondalkin on March 12, 2020.
Blanchardstown District Court heard at 10.46pm, gardai received a call that a female was in a verbal dispute with her husband and wanted him to leave.
Mantas was outside when the gardai arrived at the address. He was intoxicated and became aggressive to the gardai, then jumped on the bonnet of the patrol car in an attempt to get away from them, Sergeant Maria Callaghan said.
The damage to the car was “minimal”, Sgt Callaghan said.
The accused had a number of previous convictions.
Simkas had been in Ireland for 15 years and was currently looking for work, his solicitor Valerie Buckley said.
She asked the judge to take account of the accused’s guilty plea. Judge McHugh said while the plea was of value to the court, the events of the day in question were “appalling” and he imposed a three-month sentence.
Asking him to suspend the sentence, Ms Buckley said she did not think Simkas was in his right mind on the night due to his level of intoxication.
Judge McHugh said he believed it was appropriate to jail Simkas. He fixed recognisances in the event of an appeal.
