Man to contest alleged Longford ‘road rage’ incident with lorry driver

Fifty-one-year-old Valquir Borges, 6 The Hawthorns, Clonbalt Woods, Longford, was initially charged in connection to the aforementioned incident at a sitting of Longford District Court last December.

That came following an incident along the N4 at Edgeworthstown, Co Longford on 23 September.

He was charged with the possession of a knife contrary to Section 9 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 and the production of an article during the course of a dispute.

On that occasion, the court heard that the episode stemmed from an alleged "road rage" incident after the accused allegedly pulled in front of a lorry.

Judge Bernadette Owens was told the lorry driver sounded the horn of his vehicle before both men pulled in and got out of their vehicles.

The lorry driver, it was alleged, went to approach the accused man's car, at which point Mr Borges exited his own vehicle armed with a large knife.

It's believed a large chunk of the prosecution's case will centre on dash cam footage taken from the scene of the alleged incident.

Defence solicitor Bríd Mimnagh said her client would be professing his innocence to the charges before the court.

"He believed that the main aggressor was the lorry driver," she said.

Judge Owens described the incident as a "very serious matter" before accepting jurisdiction on the case.

At a sitting of Longford District Court last Tuesday, Mr Borges was not present, but it was confirmed the accused through his solicitor would be seeking a full hearing into the matter.

Judge Owens was informed the case should take in the region of an hour to conclude.

Mr Borges was remanded on continuing bail to a sitting of Longford District Court on April 25.