Man making TikTok videos ‘naive’ to take imitation gun to Cork pub, says judge

A MUSIC video maker who bought an imitation semi-automatic pistol for the Punjabi remixes he was putting on TikTok was “naive in the extreme” to put the imitation weapon on top of a urinal in a Cork city pub, a court has heard.

Judge Joanne Carroll made this comment about Ashish Douglas John when she gave him the benefit of a dismissal under the Probation of Offenders Act for what would have been his first conviction of any kind.

The 35-year-old, residing at Buttery Court, Mallow, Co Cork, co-operated fully with the garda investigation and was never in any kind of trouble, solicitor Shane Collins-Daly said at Cork District Court.

Judge Carroll said: “It was naive in the extreme to walk into any licensed premises and put this on a shelf in a public bar, and it looked like a very good imitation of a firearm.”

However, the judge acknowledged the submissions made by Mr Collins-Daly and the consequences for the accused of a conviction for such a matter.

Judge Carroll said that if a €100 contribution was made by the defendant to the Cork Life Centre, then the charge would be dismissed.

PUNJABI MUSIC VIDEOS

In the course of the case, the judge asked Sergeant Gearóid Davis if he had any reason to doubt that the 35-year-old bought the imitation gun for a Punjabi music video on TikTok.

The sergeant said he had not seen the video. Judge Carroll acknowledged then that this was not what the sergeant did in his spare time.

Outlining the background to the case, Sgt Davis said that before 8pm on Friday, September 1, 2022, gardaí at Anglesea St received a call from a male witness who had observed the defendant with what he thought was a firearm in the toilet of the Old Oak Bar on Oliver Plunkett St.

“CCTV footage showed him standing at the urinal and placing what appeared to be a semi-automatic pistol on top of the urinal while he is urinating and conversing with another man at the urinal,” said Sgt Davis.

“With the assistance of multiple garda units, a search of the city was conducted and Ashish Douglas John was located in the smoking area of another premises.

“He said it was an imitation and was in his hotel room nearby.

“Gardaí recovered the realistic imitation firearm.

“He made full admissions.

“He outlined he purchased it at a store in Cork city and had no criminal intention whatsoever.

“He told gardaí he was making Punjabi music remixes and TikTok videos and purchased the imitation firearm for use in one of the music videos.

“He recalls taking it out while he was in the toilet of the Old Oak and reassuring the individual that it was not real and he didn’t want to frighten him.”