Lurgan man whose offending was 'fuelled by alcohol' is jailed for six months at Craigavon court
A Co Armagh man has been sentenced to six months in jail for offences which were ‘fuelled by alcohol'.
The 28-year-old appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court via video link from Maghaberry Prison.
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Nathan Power, from Springwell Gardens, Lurgan, faced a number of charges including assault and criminal damage.
The court heard police were contacted by the defendant’s father who was concerned about thefts and breaches of a restraining order.
On Saturday, August 8, police were contacted about an ‘ongoing issue’ at Springwell Gardens, Lurgan. On arrival they spotted Power ‘sitting highly intoxicated in decking in the rear garden’ with his dad and sister at the back door of the property.
Power’s father said he had been in Newcastle but got a call from his son asking for money and other things. He kept receiving Ring doorbell notifications that someone was at the door.
On arrival home, he found his son in the garden in ‘an agitated state’ and he was punching the garden wall. He went into the rear of the property and became ‘more aggressive’.
When his sister arrived he ‘became abusive to her also’ and threw brackets at her. After an altercation with his dad, the defendant went to the front of the property and ripped off the Ring doorbell causing damage.
Power’s barrister, Ms Ciara O’Neill, said her client accepted responsibility for his actions at an early stage and has taken a pragmatic approach.
"The facts do not cover Mr Power in glory and there is no excuse,” she said.
"The reality is these offences, like the majority of the previous entries on his record, are fuelled by alcohol, to the extent that he has no real memory of the incident.
"He has a long-standing history of alcohol and substance abuse issues,” she said, adding that her client is currently a sentenced prisoner who would have been released at the end of October if it were not for this case.
"He’s had plenty of time sitting in custody to think about what needs to change and I think he is being is realise that if he wants to stop coming before the court, the reality is that he’s going to have to remain completely abstinent from alcohol.
"When he does drink he does tend to end up where he currently is,” she said.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said that if Power had contested the charges and convicted he would have been facing up to 18 months in custody.
He pointed to the defendant’s early plea. “You’ve seen sense,” said the district judge, adding he would issue six months jail terms for each charge before the court.
For two common assault charges, he was given a six months sentence and ordered to pay the £25 offender levy. For criminal damage, aggravated by domestic abuse, he was also given a six months jail term.
For each of the two counts of breaching a Restraining Order he was also jailed for six months. All charges are to run concurrently.
A four months suspended sentence was also enacted but to run concurrent to the other charges.