Kerry man sentenced to five months for smashed window
The KerrymanA man who smashed the house of his ex-partner was sentenced to five months prison at Tralee District Court last Wednesday.
John O’Brien (37) of 25 An Caislean Mor, Castleisland, pleaded to damaging property.
The court heard his former partner was sitting in her living room on October 27, 2024 when he began shouting outside the house and smashed one of its windows.
This account was provided to gardaí by the injured party in broken English, said Detective Sergeant Chris Manton.
There was a six-year-old in the house at the time, the court heard.
“He would have been calling there before,” said Det Sgt Manton.
Mr O’Brien had 45 previous convictions, including intimidation of a witness and several for assault.
His solicitor Pat Mann told the court that his client had struggled with addiction and was using heroin at the time.
“He had been in a relationship for some time and the relationship had gone sour,” said Mr Mann.
Mr O’Brien was in custody on separate charges and had not applied for bail for this case. He had told Mr Mann “I just needed to give myself a break”.
Referring to an ongoing case in Cork, Mr Mann told the court, “He’s six and a half months in custody now on another matter and he hasn’t looked for bail, either here or next door.”
The solicitor highlighted his client’s behaviour in prison, noting he had applied for a job at the prison kitchen and availed of education opportunities.
“He was attending school in prison, which he never did growing up,” said Mr Mann.
Judge David Waters convicted and sentenced Mr O’Brien to five months from October 1.