Bogus 999 callout led to assault on Laois gardaí
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A CALLOUT to a bogus emergency 999 call resulted in two gardaí being assaulted.
The incident occurred at 4pm on 21 December 2023 at an address along the Old Knockmay Road in Portlaoise.
When the two gardaí arrived at the house, a woman present said that her son had mistakenly rang 999. When they went to enquire further, they spoke with two men who were present. One became very erratic and pushed a garda to the ground, who sustained injures to both hands. The man also kicked out at the other garda, who sustained injuries to his knees.
That was the evidence heard at Portlaoise District Court last week when John McDonagh (20) from Willow Grove, Mountmellick pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and to a count of obstruction.
The defendant also pleaded guilty to being intoxicated in a public place and to engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour at Irishtown, Mountmellick on 24 May last year.
The court was told that Mr McDonagh had 38 previous convictions and that he is currently being held on remand in prison waiting to appear at Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing in October.
Defending solicitor Michael Byrne said that his client “is very remorseful for his actions. It related to a mix of alcohol and street tablets he had consumed at the time.” For the assaults on garda John O’Keefe and garda Ronan Fitzsimons, Judge Susan Fay imposed a three-month sentence on both, to run consecutively (six months in total), and suspended both for three years. She also convicted him of engaging in threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour and placed him on a 24-month probation supervision order and took the offence of being intoxicated into consideration.
She went on to fix recognisance in the event Mr McDonagh wished to appeal her decision.
