Corkman threatened to ‘slice up’ prison officer

A MAN armed with a Stanley knife threatened an off-duty prison officer in Cork city centre, saying that he would be sliced up, a court has heard.

The man accused of making this death threat has signed a plea of guilty. Dean Cremin, aged 31, signed the plea at Cork District Court and Judge Mary Dorgan has sent the case forward for sentencing at the sessions of Cork Circuit Criminal Court commencing on May 29.

The Director of Public Prosecutions previously directed that the death-threat charge could be dealt with at district-court level, on a plea of guilty only. 

However, Judge Mary Dorgan said she would not accept jurisdiction to deal with the case, because of the seriousness of the allegation.

The accused, with an address at 5 Inchera Close, Mahon, Cork, had indicated at an earlier hearing that he denied making a threat or producing the box-cutter knife.

He said he knew the prison officer was interested in rugby and that he [Cremin] was also interested in rugby and that he spoke to him about that when he met him on the street. He also said that CCTV showed that the only item in his hand was a mobile phone.

Sergeant Gearóid Davis outlined the prosecution case: “On July 20, 2023, the prison officer from Cork Prison was walking on Pembroke St at 8pm when three men who recognised him approached him.

“One of them started conversing with him as he was walking down the street. A second man in the group became aggressive and started calling him a dirty screw.

“The officer stated that the aggressive man then threatened to slice him up and that he had a blade.

“He said the aggressive man proceeded to take a box-cutter knife out of his pocket. The officer continued to walk away from the aggressive man and his companions and left them on Pembroke St as he walked onto the South Mall. CCTV of the incident was obtained.”

The charge to which he has now pleaded guilty is that he made a threat to kill or cause the complainant serious harm, contrary to Section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.