Courts / Dublin / Report

Moore St trader was at "extreme end of intoxication scale" during trespass

Date
2018-02-22

Stage
Hearing Or Decision

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

In a Darndale incident, 37‑year‑old Jonathan Hopkins broke into an elderly couple's home, claiming to be under attack and shouting about a gun. He was found on a shed roof, shouting, punching the air and hallucinating, and had also damaged two parked cars. Gardaí used pepper spray to subdue him. Hopkins pleaded guilty to trespass and criminal damage at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. He had been hospitalised in intensive care for a month after the incident. Judge Patrick Quinn, noting Hopkins' extreme intoxication, described his conduct as almost unforgivable but considered his context. The judge praised Hopkins' efforts to seek employment, address addiction, and compensate victims, and noted a character reference supporting his progress and potential as a drug‑treatment counsellor. No jail sentence was imposed.