Courts / Waterford / Report

Lithuanian who bit gardai trying to arrest him given suspended sentence on condition he flies back to home country

Date
2014-12-10

Stage
Sentence

Primary locality
Waterford

Summary

Zilvinas Antanovas, a 27‑year‑old Lithuanian, was given a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to possession of heroin, assaulting two gardai, and possession of M‑CAT in Dublin. He was arrested in Dublin's city centre after Garda officers found €305 worth of heroin and a bag of M‑CAT on him. During the arrest he bit two officers and resisted, prompting the use of pepper spray. Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed a two‑and‑a‑half‑year sentence, suspended the remainder on the condition that Antanovas be flown back to Lithuania from Mountjoy Prison on Sunday. He is barred from returning to Ireland for five years. Antanovas has prior convictions for handling stolen property and for dealing heroin, and his defence claimed he was coerced into drug dealing by a gang that took his passport in Lithuania.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Lithuanian who bit gardai trying to arrest him given suspended sentence on condition he flies back to home country. Charges or matters: possession of heroin at Exchange Street Lower, Dublin on January 18, 2014; assaulting two gardai causing them harm and possession of a synthetic alternative to cocaine also known as M-CAT or Mephedrone, during the same incident. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

January 18, 2014 Incident
October 22, 2013 Incident
December 2, 2013 Incident
2014-12-10 Publication

Why: Counsel said his client was in Dublin that day because the criminal gang had called him and told him to go there. CNI source report

Case subjects

Zilvinas Antanovas

Defendant

Charges: possession of heroin at Exchange Street Lower, Dublin on January 18, 2014; assaulting two gardai causing them harm and possession of a synthetic alternative to cocaine also known as M-CAT or Mephedrone, during the same incident (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Judge Mary Ellen Ring imposed a two and half year sentence to date from the time Antanovas went into custody last January. She suspended the balance of the sentence on condition that he is picked up from Mountjoy prison on Sunday by gardaí and driven to the airport where he is to board a flight to his native country.