This article is from page 12 of the 2009-11-10 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
PEOPLE who damage the property of others must pay for it, a judge said yesterday, as he ordered compensa- tion to be paid in a car damage case.
Jim McDonagh (19), of Dun na hInise, Ennis, admitted a charge of criminal damage at Gort Road, En- nis, on October 5 last.
Inspector John Galvin told En- nis District Court that a man called to Ennis Garda Station on October 5 and complained that his jeep had been damaged.
“He was driving along and his jeep was approached by the accused. It is alleged the accused got out with a stick and started breaking windows and damaging the paint work,’ he SrHLOe
He said that the accused admit- ted taking part, in interviews with gardai. The amount of damage caused was €1,920.97.
Defending solicitor Tara Godfrey said that her client had not been fur- nished with details of the amount of the damage until yesterday. “My cli- ent doesn’t have that sort of money in court,” she said. She said there was a background to the case.
“My client was coming along in a car. The injured party made a ges- ture to his own mouth. He was act- ing in a state of heightened emotion. Emotions boiled over,’ she said.
Judge Aeneas McCarthy asked, “Is there some sort of feud going on, be- cause if there is, it’s time the court stepped in before things get out of hand?”
Ms Godfrey replied, “Things seem to have calmed down. It’s hoped that matters will resolve themselves.”
Ms Godfrey said she understood the compensation would be €500 and said her client is on social wel- fare. The judge told her, ““He should have thought of that before he dam- aged somebody’s property.’
The solicitor then asked for an ad-
journment “to accumulate a fraction of the money”. The judge said, “I’m not talking about a fraction. This man (the victim) is out of pocket. Who does he (the accused) expect to pay for this car?
“If people cause damage to other people’s property, they pay for it,” added the judge.
He imposed a six-month detention sentence and suspended it on condi- tion that the cost of the damage be paid within three months.