Accused carried machete down tracksuit pants 'out of paranoia'

Bench warrant issued as 26-year-old fails to appear in court on charge of carrying weapon

The accused failed to appear in court.

A machete was found down the leg of a man’s tracksuit pants and when questioned he said he was paranoid when he was “walking the roads” at night.

The case went to trial at Cork District Court in the absence of 26-year-old Dean Ahern, of no fixed address and formerly of Churchfield Green, Cork.

The defendant failed to appear. Judge Marian O’Leary convicted the accused in his absence and issued a bench warrant for his arrest.

Inspector James Hallahan prosecuted the case against Ahern, stating that Garda Tim O’Sullivan responded to a call about a man in possession of a large machete at Lotamore Park.

Gardaí got a description of the person suspected of having the machete.

Dean Ahern matched the description that was supplied to gardaí and they saw him at Silversprings Road a short time after they had been alerted.

Dean Ahern was stopped and questioned about the matter. He said he was in possession of a machete in his tracksuit bottoms.

The large blade was visible down the left leg of the tracksuit pants. The accused was handcuffed in order to search him safely. The machete was retrieved.

Garda Karen O’Sullivan gave evidence of this incident. She said that members of the Garda armed support unit stopped the accused at Silversprings Road and confiscated the weapon.

In a memo of interview the accused man said:

I am just paranoid walking the roads at night.

Asked if he was fighting with anyone, he replied: “Yes.” And he added: “I am just paranoid. That’s why I brought it with me walking the roads at night. I have it as long as I can remember.”

When it was put to him that the weapon could cause serious injury if it was used during a fight with someone, he said: “It would I suppose, yeah. But I had no intention of doing anything with it.”

Defence solicitor, Diarmuid Kelleher, confirmed that the defendant had failed to appear. Judge Marian O’Leary issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Dean Ahern so that he could be brought to Cork District Court for sentencing.