Jailed for five months for headbutting garda
Judge Geraldine Carthy
A MAN who was ‘out of control’ on alcohol and tablets was last week sent to prison for five months for headbutting a garda.
At Carlow District Court, Judge Geraldine Carthy heard that Warren Flood (41) was ‘out of control’ on a bus when gardaí were called to Hanover Bus Park, Carlow on 9 August last year.
Mr Flood last week pleaded guilty in court to assaulting the garda on that date at Carlow Garda Station, while also pleading guilty to two public order offences – being intoxicated in a public place and engaging in threatening, insulting and abusive behaviour at the bus park. He also pleaded guilty to refusing to give his name and address to gardaí during the same incident.
Sgt Hud Kelly told Judge Carthy that gardaí were called to the bus park on that date and found Mr Flood to be intoxicated. He said that Mr Flood refused to co-operate with the gardaí, shouted at them and called them rats.
Sgt Kelly continued that Mr Flood was arrested and brought to Carlow Garda Station but he continued to be aggressive and headbutted one of the gardaí, making his nose bleed. Sgt Kelly also said that Mr Flood had 103 previous convictions, that he had served time in Mountjoy Prison and that the incident before the court was a triggering offence because Mr Flood was on probation at the time.
Counsel for Mr Flood from Crinan Strand, Dublin 1 said that he admitted “that he was fully out of control on the bus” because he was on alcohol and medication. She continued that Mr Flood wished to apologise to the garda that he assaulted and asked Judge Carthy for leniency. She said that her client’s mother had died when he was young and that he had found his father dead four years ago. She continued that he had three children and that his 17-year-old daughter, who was in court with him, was a great support for him.
The barrister continued that her client was ten weeks sober and that he wanted to go into rehabilitation, but he needed a lot of support.
Judge Carthy noted that the case had been scheduled for a hearing in November 2024 and that a bench warrant was issued for Mr Flood but later vacated. She also noted that this was a triggering offence and that Mr Flood had been given the benefit of a suspended sentence before but it “didn’t have the desired effect”.
She also said that Mr Flood had injured a garda in the course of carrying out his duty and then sentenced him to five months on the assault charge, taking all the other charges into consideration.
