Dundalk man sentenced for threatening to burn a family home
A 20 year old man who assaulted a young man and made a threat to burn the victim’s family home on Valentine’s Day last year, was given a four month sentence at Dundalk district court last week.
Cillian Myles of Villas One, Muirhevnamor, Dundalk appeared on foot of a bench warrant which was issued two weeks before, after he was convicted in his absence.
The assault victim told the original court hearing that he was going for a walk when three youths on bikes approached him at Villas Two, Muirhevnamor including Cillian Myles, who he said kept shouting at him “I’m dead’.
He claimed the defendant jumped off his bike and "hit him a punch” and later told him he had to pay €200 by Friday or he’d petrol bomb his house and break it up. The man told his mum and they both went to the defendant’s aunt’s where he said Cillian Myles said he had to pay the consequences of showing somebody where he lived.
Last Wednesday, the Defence solicitor said it was an empty threat and had said in his garda interview he didn’t know it was illegal to make a threat.
She outlined how her client had left school at 13 and started abusing cannabis and then tablets, and while he is now off the tablets he still smokes weed, and added she would usually be urging the court not to impose a custodial sentence but in this case she was seeking one, as Cillian Myles had told her he thinks “it will help him to wise up”.
The solicitor also explained that he had failed to attend last week as he had buried his head in the sand.
Judge Eirinn McKiernan imposed a four month sentence for the threat to cause criminal damage and directed that he get urgent medical assessment and attention.