Drunk father of four found in stranger’s car

A father of four had such a cocktail of alcohol and unprescribed medication he did not know how he ended up sitting in someone else’s car, on the driveway of their home.

Insp Mary King said that Mayfield gardaí received a call to St Christopher’s Rd, in Montenotte, Cork, in the early hours of July 24, 2014, and found Maurice O’Brien, aged 36, of 18B Mourne Avenue, The Glen, Cork, sitting in the phone caller’s car.

Gardai observed O’Brien was highly intoxicated and had property stolen from the car in his possession. These included sunglasses and markers. He also had the front piece of a Sony radio, which had been taken from another car, further up the same road.

O’Brien admitted to gardaí that morning that he had taken the property. Yesterday, at Cork District Court, he pleaded guilty to both thefts. Insp King said the accused man had previous convictions, including for assault causing harm four years ago, and more recently for possessing drugs for his own use. Frank Buttimer, solicitor, said the accused suffered from a muscular disability and had taken medication on the night, although it was not prescribed. He also had drank a lot. “He does not know how, in the name of goodness, he ended up in this vehicle,” said Mr Buttimer.