3 years’ jail for threat over CCTV

A Rathcormac man who got angry about a CCTV camera mounted outside a neighbour’s house poured petrol on the ground, lit it, and threatened to burn out the neighbours.

Detective Garda Thomas Ryan described that scenario at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin jailed the accused, Mark Kelly, for three years yesterday, saying: “There was no sense, rhyme or reason to this other than outrageous blaggarding.”

Kelly was on a suspended two-year sentence for an aggravated burglary. The judge revoked that suspension and jailed him for the two years for that and imposed a consecutive two years, with the last year suspended on the charge of making threats.

Kelly and his brother David — both formerly of an address at Ashfield Place, Rathcormac, Co Cork — caused this trouble on May 29, 2014, at Ashfield Place.

David Kelly made a threat to Liam Mannix that he would damage his home.

Kelly pleaded guilty that, on the same date at another address at Ashfield Place, he made a threat to Mary O’Shea that he would burn out her home in a manner likely to endanger life intending that Mary O’Shea would believe that Mark Kelly would carry this out.

Both David and Mark Kelly pleaded guilty that two days later they resisted Detective Garda Denis Ryan acting in the course of his duty.