Judge tells defendant Cork court is not a Tesco store for his convenience

A DEFENDANT who asked for more time to decide whether or not to accept a community service order in lieu of a prison sentence was treating the legal system like a Tesco Express convenience store, said the judge.

Judge John King made the comments at Macroom District Court, when hearing the case against Patrick Ring, 59, of Peake, Coachford, County Cork.

Sergeant Trish O’Sullivan told the court that on June 1, 2023, an ISPCA inspector attempted to gain access to Mr Ring’s property, The Dew Drop Inn, Peake, near Coachford, County Cork, to carry out an animal-welfare inspection. This followed an anonymous report.

When she explained the purpose of her visit, Mr Ring became irate, the court was told, and verbally abused the inspector. Sgt O’Sullivan said Mr Ring was aggressive and warned the inspector not to enter an adjacent field. He then made moves towards her van. As she was unable to carry out the inspection, she called gardaí for assistance. Sgt O’Sullivan said that the ISPCA inspector felt intimidated by Mr Ring.

The court was told that Mr Ring has 40 previous convictions, for offences that include motoring, drugs, criminal damage, and public order.

Defence solicitor Jack Purcell said that his client did not appreciate that the ISPCA inspector had the power to enter his property for an inspection. He said that he moved towards the van as a “tactic to stall the inspection”. 

Mr Purcell told the court that his client did not have an income because the pub had been shut down by gardaí for a licensing issue.

The judge asked if Mr Ring would be willing to do community service, instead of a custodial sentence, to which he said that he could not commit because of transport issues. Mr Ring attempted to leave the court and had to be called back. The judge said: “I feel like we are a Tesco Express or something. It seems this is justice at your convenience.” The judge deferred sentencing until February 7.