Two and a half years for knife-and-fork offender

A 22-year-old man who wielded a steak knife and large fork during an hour-long stand off with gardaí has being sentenced to two years and six months at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Brian Kiely, a father of one, threatened to stab any garda who entered the house and put garda Garvan Lennon in fear of his life when he lunged at him with a knife telling him: "Your stab vest won't save you."

Kiely, of Ratoath Avenue, Finglas West, pleaded guilty to producing a knife while appearing to be about to assault a garda at Kylemore Court on June 30, 2006.

Garda Lennon told Ms Anne Marie Lawlor BL, prosecuting, that Kiely had 49 previous convictions for offences including assault, possession of knives, violent behaviour in a garda station, theft, criminal damage, drugs and assorted public order and road traffic offences . He also has five charges pending against him.

Judge Tony Hunt noted that the probation service had refused to work with him. He said it was lucky no one was seriously hurt. He noted Kiely's early guilty plea and suspended the final year of the sentence for three years. He also ordered he stay under probation supervision for 12 months on his release.

He said Kiely's consumption of a "vast amount of alcohol" before the incident was "an explanation but not an excuse".

"If you consume a large amount of alcohol you have to be able to take the consequences."

Garda Lennon told Ms Lawlor that on responding to call about a domestic dispute he found an agitated Kiely in the living room of the house wielding two knives.

Kiely lunged at garda Lennon telling him: "I will stab you if you enter" and "Your stab vest won't save you."

Garda Lennon said he felt his life was in danger and radioed for back-up. He began to negotiate with Kiely who went to the kitchen where he continued to threaten to stab gardaí.

A large number of gardaí arrived and Kiely was asked to put down the weapons. Kiely asked for his girlfriend, who came to the house, but was not allowed into the kitchen for her own safety.

Kiely continued to lunge at gardaí who tried to enter the room and embedded the knife through the closed kitchen door at head height as garda Lennon attempted to open the door.

Garda Lennon said they heard Kiely slump to the floor after one hour and he told gardaí it was safe to enter.

Kiely was arrested and told gardaií during interview that he could not remember what had happened.

Garda Lennon agreed with defence counsel, Ms Caroline Biggs BL, that Kiely was unable to stand in the garda station and was unfit to be questioned on his arrival at the station. He agreed that Kiely told gardaí he would hand over the knives to his girlfriend but said he failed to do so when she came to the house.

Garda Lennon agreed that Kiely had a dispute with his partner about "going or not going to work" that morning and that he had been smoking cannabis and drinking with his uncle during the day.

Garda Lennon told Judge Hunt that gardaí were called to the house when a row broke out between Kiely and his uncle and this sparked the stand off.

Ms Biggs said Kiely had consumed "a vast amount of alcohol" and was in a heightened emotional state.

She said that Kiely's father, mother, and sister had abused heroin in the past but he had managed to confine himself to the "lessor evils" of alcohol, cannabis and ecstasy.

Ms Biggs said Kiely had begun amassing his convictions when he got into trouble between the ages of 12 and 13. She said the convictions, which had all been dealt with in the District Court, were "common to young men in difficult situations without parental support or control".