Jail for dirty protestor in garda station cell

A man who smeared his own excrement all over himself and all over a cell at Galway Garda Station, will be spending Christmas in prison – and all of next year too.

John Tomkins (45), c/o the Fairgreen Hostel, was brought in custody before Galway District Court last week, having served seven days in prison for contempt of court, after he subjected Judge Mary Fahy, Gardaí and a member of the Press to a tirade of abuse and insults the preceding Wednesday.

Tomkins had already been in custody since last June on charges involving criminal damage, theft and deception.

He denied at the initial hearing a fortnight ago that he had induced two women to lodge €200 and €210 respectively into his bank account on dates between January 28 and 30 last for tickets to AC/DC concerts which the women never received.

He also denied handling the respective amounts of money, knowing they were stolen and to giving false and misleading information regarding the transactions to Garda Paul McNulty at Galway Garda Station on April 18 last.

Dublin native Tomkins also denied damaging a car door at Lurgan Park, Murrough, on June 26 last, and with stealing a suitcase full of men’s clothing worth €300, CDs and a pair of men’s boots worth €40 from the car on the same date.

He also denied breaching the peace, by engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting words or behaviour in a public place in relation to the same incident. He further denied damaging the walls and door of a holding cell at Galway Garda Station on June 26, by smearing them with his own excrement.

Sentences totalling 14 months were imposed on all charges this week.

Tomkins fired his solicitor, Gearoid Geraghty, and decided to represent himself before his case was initially heard last Wednesday week. He repeatedly interrupted witnesses giving their evidence and launched scathing verbal attacks on Garda witnesses, the Press and Judge Fahy.

The court had heard evidence from two women who had been duped into paying money into Tomkins’ bank account for non-existent concert tickets via the Done Deal website.

Garda also gave evidence relating to the systematic theft of items from parked cars in Lurgan Park, Renmore last June and of how Tomkins was “caught red handed” with some of the stolen items.

They also gave evidence of arresting him on June 26 last in connection with the charges, of interviewing him, and of how he held a dirty protest in his cell afterwards, by smearing his own excrement over the walls and on himself.

It had cost the taxpayer €500 to have the cell cleaned and sanitised afterwards.

The court heard Tomkins had threatened to kill a Garda while being questioned about the thefts from cars and the Done Deal deception charges.

After a tirade of abuse, Tomkins was held in contempt by Judge Fahy and sent back to prison for seven days to purge his guilt.

A more contrite Tomkins appeared back before the court this week and even though he warned Judge Fahy he would not be apologising to her for his behaviour the preceding week, he did allow Mr Geraghty to represent him and address the court on his behalf.

Mr Geraghty said Tomkins was now changing his plea to guilty in relation to smearing his excrement on the prison cell walls.  All of the other charges, he said, had been dealt with the week before when he himself was not present.

Mr Geraghty said his client’s instructions to him were that the reason he indulged in this behaviour was that he had been put under severe duress by members of the Gardai.

“He says he was woken every 15 minutes during the night and lights and fans were put on in the Station.

“He was threatened with violence and he ‘cracked’ and he says that his rights under the European Convention on Human Rights were interfered with,” Mr Geraghty said.

Insp Kevin Gately strenuously denied any wrongdoing by Gardai.  He said Gardai are obliged to check on prisoners on a regular basis and the action taken by Tomkins on the night – when he smeared the cell with excrement – necessitated the putting on of fans all over the Station because there had been a nauseating smell throughout.

This behaviour, he said, caused a health and safety issue for Gardai working in the building.  He said Gardai also had a duty of care to check on Tomkins regularly in his cell to ensure he was safe and well and this incident had happened in between those regular checks.

Judge Fahy agreed this behaviour had caused a serious health and safety issue for Gardai who had to deal with Tomkins after the incident and for people who would be placed in that call afterwards.

Insp Gately said Tomkins had 20 previous convictions going back to 2006, for robberies, assaults, drug dealing, fraud, trespass, thefts, obstruction and resisting arrests.

Judge Fahy said Tomkins was now pleading to damaging the cell and there was no excuse for his behaviour.

“He put himself and Gardai at risk of ill-health and he’s shaking his head.  He doesn’t see. He doesn’t have any concept of how disgusting it would be for anyone having to work in those conditions,” Judge Fahy said.

She sentenced him to six months in prison for damaging the cell and imposed a consecutive six-month sentence on him for one of the Done Deal charges.

She imposed a consecutive one-month sentence on him for handling items stolen from a car at Lurgan Park, while a further consecutive one- month sentence was imposed on him for breaching the peace in connection with that incident.

Concurrent one-month sentences were imposed on the remaining charges.

Judge Fahy agreed to backdate the sentences to July 3 last, giving Tomkins credit for time already spent in prison in relation to the charges.