Man twice threatened to kill or harm gardaí

A man has been found guilty of threatening to track down and kill, or cause serious harm to, two gardaí on two separate occasions while in Garda custody.

The credibility of Garda witnesses was a core issue in the case, the presiding judge told the jury at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee before they retired on the fourth day of the proceedings.

Jamie Casey, aged 29 of Balloonagh Estate, Tralee, Co Kerry, had denied a total of three charges of threatening to kill or cause serious harm to three gardaí.

The charges were brought under section 5 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1997.

The defendant did not take the stand but, in memos of Garda interviews read to the court, Casey said he was “only joking” and had not meant to be taken seriously.

He claimed tea was thrown at him while in custody on one occasion and that he had been repeatedly sprayed with pepper spray.

The trial heard how one of the alleged threats, against Garda Patrick Naughton, was made on Aug 18, 2010, while Mr Casey was in custody at Tralee Garda station.

Garda Naughton gave evidence to the court that Casey had told him he would “burn your house and your family in it”. The garda said he found the threat so menacing he moved house.

On Oct 13, 2010, in Tralee courthouse after being arrested and brought before the district court on a charge of drug-driving, Casey had to be removed from the court after he became violent.

Garda Donal Daly said Casey had threatened him, saying: “I swear on my child’s life I’ll get you. Tralee is a small place, you’ll see.”

In the closing speech yesterday, prosecutor Tom Rice told the jury all the threats were made “when there was no one around except gardaí”. They were sinister and were about when the gardaí were off-duty.

The counsel for the defence, Brian McInerney, warned the jury against relying solely on Garda evidence. “The blue wall” meant gardaí did not hang their own, said Mr McInerney.

Garda witnesses had “gilded the lily” and “hammed up” the seriousness of the threats and had not carried out a proper investigation, Mr McInerney claimed.

“There was not one civilian witness,” he said.

Mr McInerney raised controversial cases in which gardaí had been found wanting, giving lengthy examples.

In his charge to the jury yesterday, Judge Carroll Moran said: “The credibility of gardaí is a core issue in this case. There is no doubt about that.”

The jury of eight women and four men at the Circuit Criminal court in Tralee deliberated for more than three hours before bringing majority guilty verdicts.

The jury acquitted Casey on count two — finding him not guilty of the charge of threatening to kill a third garda while in custody in Tralee Garda station on Oct 13, 2010.

Casey was remanded in custody for sentencing on Mar 7.