'I'll slaughter you all': Jail for grieving man who threatened gardaí with air gun

By Sonya McLean

A grieving man who pointed an air gun at three gardaí after threatening that he would slaughter them all has been jailed for 28 months.

Gerard Curtis (32) was still wearing his funeral clothes, his mother having been cremated the day before, when he stood on a second floor balcony and directed abuse at the gardaí below.

“I'll slaughter you all. If I wanted to I could kill you all easily,” Curtis told gardaí. He later produced a BB gun, raised his arm and pointed it in the direction of the officers, causing them to retreat for safety.

He pointed the gun at them a second time after the gardaí returned to the scene, again causing them to retreat.

He later admitted that he was “whacked out of it” as he had been at a cocaine-fuelled party that night.

Curtis of Sean McDermott Street Lower, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to unlawful possession of a firearm at Dominick Street, Dublin on June 14, 2016. His 116 previous convictions include public order, road traffic, assault and criminal damage.

Judge Martin Nolan accepted that while the weapon could be considered harmless, it would not have appeared as such “to those who confronted” Curtis.

He noted that an armed officer from the Special Detective Unit, who was called into assist, had produced his own weapon and was about to confront Curtis but Curtis had already put his gun down.

Judge Nolan described the offence as “serious misbehaviour that could have had serious repercussions” not just for Curtis but also the gardaí.

He accepted that Curtis co-operated with the investigation, was truly remorseful and that he had not come to garda attention for some time before this incident.

Garda Alan Murphy told Caroline Cummings BL, prosecuting, that as he was a community garda at the time in the area, he was called to the scene.

He said by the time he had arrived, officers from the Special Detective Unit had also been brought in and they were on the balcony with Curtis.

These gardaí managed to restrain Curtis and Gda Murphy was able to calm the situation further and ultimately arrest him and bring him in for questioning.

Gda Murphy confirmed that the gun, which was found in the flat, was a working BB gun; a CO2 powered air pistol designed to discharge plastic ball bearings.

Curtis told Gda Murphy in interview that his mother had been cremated the previous day. He said he was “whacked out of it” having taken alcohol and drugs the day before.

“I thought I would have no one in my life,” he said before he added he was “just being stupid. I've been out of trouble for three and half years”. He said he had bought the gun a few months previously for €70.

Two victim impact reports before the court stated that the gardaí were in fear for their lives and found it to be “a traumatic incident”.

Gda Murphy agreed with David Staunton BL, defending that Curtis had “quietened down with a partner” just before his mother's death.

“He calmed himself down entirely, he was a changed man,” Gda Murphy said before he accepted that the incident was “out of a character”. He said he had known Curtis for his entire career as a community garda.

He agreed with Mr Staunton that “a switch went off” as Curtis's mother had been his main supporter and he realised the significant loss she would be in his life.

Mr Staunton told Judge Nolan that his client's father died when he was very young and he had no father figure throughout his life. His mother was an alcoholic and two of his siblings had died from drug overdoses.

“His mother was the only constant figure throughout his existence. He didn't deal with the bereavement the way others might,” counsel submitted before he added that Curtis returned to the “default in his life” and got back into drugs.

He said Curtis had lived a sad existence but he now needed to move on in life and wanted to do so.