Parents put in fear by son at the family home

A 21-year-old Cork man put his own parents in fear at the family home and attacked a man at a nearby off-licence to grab his beer.

Alex McSweeney pleaded guilty to the crimes at Cork District Court yesterday.

Judge Olann Kelleher jailed him for a total term of four months.

McSweeney admitted robbery on July 11, 2016. Insp John Deasy said the injured party bought some beer at Scally’s off-licence on Skehard Rd and as he left he was punched in the face by McSweeney, who stole his beer from him.

McSweeney also pleaded guilty to breaching a protection order by putting his parents in fear at the family home on August 16, 2016.

Gardaí Seán Stack and Michael Kiely responded to a call to his parents’ home at Cherry Lawn in Blackrock, Cork.

Insp Deasy said McSweeney was in the kitchen shouting and getting aggressive to his parents and to gardaí. The young man was foaming at the mouth at the time and resisted arrest.

Ten days later he was getting out of a taxi on Church Road and stole the driver’s mobile phone. The phone was never recovered.

He had 43 previous convictions including counts for assault and 14 counts of engaging in threatening behaviour.

Diarmuid Kelleher, solicitor, said the accused had a drink problem dating to when he was 14 years old.

“He knows he is going to have to get treatment. It is just getting worse and worse. He goes through long periods when he is not rational.

“He cannot handle alcohol, it brings out demons in him,” Mr Kelleher said.

The solicitor said it was dawning on the defendant how serious his situation was becoming as he spent Christmas on remand in custody on the charges, having been refused bail.