Man told garda he was 'flying away'

A man awaiting sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for drug offences has had his bail revoked after he told a garda he was "flying away" and wouldn’t turn up in court.

Declan Donovan, aged 30, from Gardiner Street, Dublin 1, pleaded guilty to offences under Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act on July 17 and had been remanded on High Court bail for sentence on October 30 next.

Garda Pat Keegan told Mr Stephen McCann BL, prosecuting, that Donovan said to him in the course of a conversation outside Dublin District Court on September 26 regarding his pending sentence: "It doesn’t matter, anyway, because I’m flying away".

Garda Keegan added that Donovan said "me bird and me brother" were going with him and also pointed to his pocket implying he might have a plane ticket in his possession.

Garda Keegan told Judge Desmond Hogan that he took this to mean that Donovan was fleeing the jurisdiction and had no intention on showing up for his sentence date and 10 minutes later he swore an information in the District Court under the bail legislation for an arrest warrant for him.

He arrested Donovan the next morning and brought him back to the District Court. The case was sent to the High Court for the following Monday but was eventually sent to the Circuit Criminal when the High Court wasn’t sitting.

Garda Keegan said: "I felt I had an obligation to take action in light of what he said to me. I took him seriously and believed he had the motivation, the means and the opportunity to do so."

He told Donovan’s counsel, Mr Breffini Gordon BL, that while the accused had complied with all the conditions of his High Court bail he had failed to appear on three occasions in relation to another matter he had running in tandem in the District Court.

Mr Gordon agreed that Garda Keegan had acted correctly in the circumstances in obtaining the arrest warrant but asked that his client be readmitted to bail as he had always complied with the conditions relating to the High Court bail.

Judge Hogan said it was common case that Garda Keegan was fully correct in bringing the application before the court and remanded Donovan in custody.

He said: "Not only was there a foolish utterance but looking at the wider picture, while he may have complied with all the orders of the High Court, he has failed to appear on three occasions in a case that has been running in tandem with this in the District Court.

"I am entitled to take the view that he appears to comply with obligations until such time that the matters are going to be finally dealt with but it would be a little too trusting of the court to do anything other than to revoke his bail."