Man who threatened Brown Thomas staff at Cork store is jailed 

A MIDDLE-AGED man who threatened Brown Thomas staff with the neck of a broken bottle after stealing two bottles of perfume from the St Patrick’s Street store has been jailed.

Judge Joanne Carroll jailed Ian O’Sullivan of Cork Simon Community for four months for the offences, which occurred on June 29, when O’Sullivan pleaded guilty at Cork District Court by video link from prison.

“This is a man who broke a bottle and returned to the store and threatened to kill the security people,” said Judge Carroll.

Joseph Cuddigan, solicitor, said: “He wholeheartedly expresses his sympathy and remorse.

“It was a shameful act — he recognises that.

“He did a psychology course in prison emphasising compassion. He does understand how an incident like that could adversely affect the security man.”

Judge Carroll added: “Not to mention the customers who could have been distressed by this disturbance.”

Mr Cuddigan said: “Extraordinarily, from the CCTV, customers continued to go in and out. One would have thought they would have been afraid to cross the door, but that was not the situation.

“He wants to get back to being a sober person. He wants to get back with his family.”

Garda Dave Tobin previously objected to bail being granted to the accused man on charges of having a broken bottle, engaging in threatening behaviour, being drunk and a source of danger to himself or others, and theft.

Gda Tobin said: “The accused was captured on CCTV taking two bottles of fragrances to a total value of €207 and that outside the premises he had the broken neck of a smashed bottle and he was acting in a threatening manner to security staff.

“He was threatening and abusive to the security staff and that he returned multiple times to the store in an aggressive and intoxicated manner.”

Sergeant John Kelleher said the defendant had a bottle in his pocket when he was being escorted out of the premises and that this fell and smashed outside, and it was the neck of this broken bottle that he produced during the subsequent confrontation.

Sgt Kelleher said the accused had 173 previous convictions, including 52 for theft and 38 for making a gain by deception.

Mr Cuddigan said the defendant’s issues were with alcohol and gambling but that he had set up a Gamblers Anonymous group in Cork Prison that still operates.