A tree surgeon who was found with a work knife in his pocket by Gardaí was recently given the chance to avoid a conviction by making a donation to the court poor box.
Dylan Maxwell (35) of 13 O’Brien Street, Waterford, was before Judge John Cheatle at a sitting of Waterford District Court recently, and pleaded guilty to possession of a knife in public, contrary to Section 9 (1) & (7) of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990. A separate charge of being in possession of drugs for personal use, arising from the same incident, was withdrawn.
The court was told that after 11.00 pm on 26 July 2025, Detective Garda Sean Lane encountered the accused and a group of individuals at John’s Lane, Waterford. Detective Lane searched the accused after the group were acting in a “suspicious manner” with a smell of cannabis in the area. It was stated that a six-inch knife was found in his possession.
It was noted in court that the accused was co-operative with Gardaí, and told Detective Lane prior to being searched that he was at work earlier in the day, and had a knife that he uses for it in his pocket.
Acting for the defendant, solicitor Ken Cunningham said that his client is 35-years-old, was fully co-operative with the Gardaí, and is studying full-time at SETU alongside his work as a tree surgeon. He added that after the incident occurred, the accused went to the Garda Station to apologise and make it clear that it was a work knife.
Mr. Cunningham said that a reference letter from the accused’s employer was prepared, where they said that he is “reliable, punctual and respectful.”
He added that they are aware that his client needed the reference letter for a court appearance, as the authors of references can “sometimes be unaware” of the reason why they are sought.
Judge Cheatle invited the accused to make a €100 donation to the court poor box, indicating that he would avoid a conviction if this was completed. The case was later struck out after the donation receipt was presented to the Judge.
Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme
Robyn Power
