Man jailed for assault swears at judge in court

A man who frightened an elderly woman in her home and then assaulted a garda at the scene was jailed for four months yesterday.

Stephen Nugent pleaded guilty to the crimes in Cork District Court, but when Judge Olann Kelleher sentenced him, the 38-year-old said repeatedly: “Fucking bullshit, boy.”

Defence solicitor David McCoy described the incident as having a domestic background and said Nugent had moved away from the area where it happened.

Inspector Ronan Kennelly said the incident occurred on November 28, 2016, when gardaí responded to a call from a woman at Shamrock Cottages, Passage West.

Garda Tom Delaney arrived to find that the accused was physically abusive and was intoxicated, and that the woman was in fear of him.

Insp Kennelly said that as Garda Delaney tried to pepper-spray him, Nugent knocked the pepper-spray to the floor and knocked the guard to the floor.

This struggle lasted for 10 minutes and Garda Delaney had to call for the assistance of colleagues to arrest Nugent. Insp Kennelly said the guard’s injuries put him out of work for three months.

The judge fined him €200 for drunkenness, imposed a two-month jail term for threatening behaviour, and four months for assaulting the guard.