Judge tells man who told garda to f*** off: 'The road to Damascus in Longford leads to Castlerea'

Twenty-two-year-old Paul Adetunji came in for rebuke at last week’s sitting of Longford District Court having entered the courtroom in an agitated state following a disturbance outside.

He had been charged with using threatening and abusive behaviour and failing to comply with the directions of a garda after officers were called to an incident at the Connaght Road, Longford on May 15, 2023.

Sgt Enda Daly for the State, said gardaí were forced to deal with a large number of young men at a local filling station which resulted in the arrest of Mr Adetunji.

During the course of the incident, Mr Adetunji was allegedly told to leave the area on at least two separate occasions but failed to do so.

Sgt Daly said during the intervening seconds that followed, the accused verbally abused Garda Michael Fox.

“He was directed to leave the area under Section 8 of the Public Order Act and told the garda to f*** off again,” said Sgt Daly.
He said he was born in this country and would do as he wanted. Once again he was directed to leave.

At that juncture, Mr Adetunji appeared to take issue with the State’s evidence, causing Sgt Daly to ask: “Is there an issue Mr Adetunji?”

Defence solicitor Fiona Baxter said the reason for her client’s indifference was linked to his own view that the obscenities outlined in court were not uttered by him.

“There was a group of people involved in this and I don’t believe that those comments were made by Mr Adetunji,” she said.

“I believe they were made by another person.”

Whatever about who made the remarks, Judge Bernadette Owens initially put the matter back for ‘second calling’ to allow the State to make contact with the investigating garda.

In doing so, she said Mr Adetunji’s demeanour in court had been “less than polite”.

When the case was recalled at a later stage, Mr Adetunji took to his feet to express his regret over his conduct.

“I’d like to apologise to Garda Fox and apologise to the court for my behaviour,” he said.

That admission appeared to cut little judicial ice with Judge Owens who replied: “The road to Damascus in Longford leads to Castlerea (Prison).”

Ms Baxter said Mr Adetunji was going to great lengths to try and get his life in order and was currently doing an online business course.

She said the major issue he was having concerned difficulties he was encountering securing a job owing to robust garda vetting.

“He (Mr Adetunji) is making positive efforts to try and better his life and if given the opportunity he could offer a very meaningful input on society but he needs to distance himself from people he is involved with,” she said.

“Garda vetting is very much an issue for him. He has apologised to Garda Fox and it’s a situation he shouldn’t have got involved in and walked away.”

Judge Owens said while she appreciated Mr Adetunji was pleading guilty to the offence, his behaviour on the day was more than questionable.

“He was part of what can only be described as a mob,” she said.

“The defendant was clearly with group of other young men who provided a very difficult situation for Garda Fox such that he had to alert colleagues to provide assistance.”

Judge Owens agreed to put the case back to a date early in the new year and advised the accused the matter could be re-entered by the State in the interim.

She also said she wanted to see “factual evidence” of Mr Adetunji’s engagement with an online business course and consequently adjourned proceedings to a sitting of Longford District Court on January 16, 2024.