Courts / Dublin / Report

Driver fined after claiming butcher's knife in car was for 'fixing wipers'

Summary

On 20 October 2023, Garda Niall McGahern stopped a car on Whitestown Way, Tallaght, after noticing the driver acting suspiciously at a traffic light. The driver, Adam Printo, 26, of Sundale Villas, Jobstown, Tallaght, Dublin 24, produced a large butcher's knife from inside the car and could not explain why he had it. He was arrested and taken to Tallaght Garda Station, where a small amount of cannabis was also found on him. Printo entered a guilty plea to a charge under Section 9 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act. Defence counsel Lauren Flanagan BL argued that Printo had been using the knife as a makeshift screwdriver earlier that day to fix the windscreen wipers. The court heard that Printo was employed full‑time in a warehouse, earning around €500 a week, and had no previous convictions or history of addiction. The knife was presented in court as evidence in a plastic bag.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Driver fined after claiming butcher's knife in car was for 'fixing wipers'. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• October 20th, 2023 Incident
• 2025-04-16 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Drugs Stage Hearing Or Decision

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Read the original CNI report