A Waterford man recently had a criminal damage matter discharged under the Probation Act.
Charlie McLoughlin (23) of 20 Ard Glas, Ferrybank, Waterford, pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage and a charge of being intoxicated in a public place relating to incidents that took place on 7 March and 14 May this year respectively.
The court heard that on the night of 7 March, Gardaí were called to a house party at which the accused attended.
The court heard that the accused was asked to leave the house party by the occupants, but the accused later returned and put his fist through the front door of the property, which resulted in damage to the value of €200.
It was also stated that on 14 May, the accused was arrested “for his own safety” by Gardaí at an area in Waterford City after they encountered him to be “unsteady on his feet.” The court heard that the accused has one previous conviction for a public order matter dating back to July, 2024.
Acting for the accused, solicitor John O’Donohue highlighted to the court that his client returned to the house in question and paid compensation for the damage he caused.
He stated that his client apologises for his actions and “simply had too much to drink” on the night of the criminal damage incident.
Judge Kevin Staunton decided to discharge the criminal damage offence conditionally under Section 1 (2) of the Probation Act, 1907, for 12 months, on the basis that the accused had already paid for the damage caused. The public order offence was marked as proven and taken into consideration.
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