Man’s claim alcohol smell was aftershave a ‘fairy tale’

A JUDGE has described as a “fairy tale” a claim by an accused man that a smell of alcohol detected from him at an addiction counselling session was his new aftershave.

“If a person is going to get treatment, the first thing they have to be is honest and not be making dishonest statements,” Judge Con O’Leary told Anthony Crowley.

Sentencing had previously been adjourned at Cork District Court for a probation report on Crowley, 27, of 22 Ashford Heights, Banduff, Cork.

However, on reading the probation officer’s reference to Crowley’s visit to the addiction counsellor, the judge imposed a six-month jail sentence on the defendant for travelling in a stolen car.

Judge O’Leary said he was not going to adjourn sentencing for the defendant to get addiction counselling if he was going to come to court with a fairy story.

The probation report revealed Crowley attended a meeting with his addiction counsellor Cal McCarthy who detected a smell of alcohol. Crowley told him it was his new aftershave.

In court yesterday, Crowley stuck to this account and said the counsellor even said to him: “It must be a cheap aftershave.”

Judge O’Leary said: “It is not possible for someone of Mr McCarthy’s experience to mistake aftershave for alcohol.”

The reason Crowley was before the court in the first place was for travelling in a stolen car at 6am on June 6 last at Poulacurry South, Glanmire, Co Cork.

Judge O’Leary sentenced him to six months and banned him from driving for five years.

Shorter sentences to run concurrently with the six-month term were imposed on him for stealing beer from Centra in Watergrasshill on June 5 last, along with being threatening and abusive during a drunken incident on December 20, 2009.

Diarmuid Kelleher, solicitor, said Crowley was anxious to deal with his difficulties and wanted to comply with directions of the probation service.