Waterford man brought knives to apartment building 'for his own protection'
Waterford Courthouse
A Waterford man has received a suspended sentence for trespassing on an apartment building carrying three large knives.
Tom O’Reilly (20) of 41 Grange Cohen, Waterford, pleaded guilty to trespassing on a premises with a weapon contrary to Section 10 (1) of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990, at a sitting of Waterford District Court before Judge John Cheatle.
The court was told that on Christmas Eve 2023, gardaí responded to an incident at an apartment block on Railway Square.
When gardaí arrived, they observed the defendant in the hallway with a blue fibre cloth.
They told him to drop it and on searching the defendant, they found three large kitchen knives.
The defendant told the gardaí that his cousins were in the building and involved in a fight.
He had brought the knives for his own protection, the court was told.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham said his client was only 18 at the time of the incident.
He told the court that his client had been “open and honest” with gardaí and asked that be taken into account.
The article wasn’t produced and there had been no assault, Mr Cunningham told the court.
Mr Cunningham said his client had recently become a father and he was living with his mother, with aspirations to work in construction.
Judge Cheatle imposed a 10-month sentence, suspended for one year and issued a destruction order for the knives.
