A man who is considered “as unpredictable as he is violent” has been jailed for threatening an off duty garda while the victim was in the company of his infant son in a Carlow shopping centre.
Brendan Keating (32) of New Oak Estate, Carlow, pleaded guilty at Carlow Circuit Criminal Court to making a threat to kill or cause serious harm to Garda Aidan Kelly on April 26, 2024 at the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow.
He also pleaded guilty to an assault and possession of a slash hook. The court heard that Keating was on a suspended sentence and on bail at the time of the offending. He also has convictions for assault causing harm and threats to kill.
Detective Garda Kieran Shields told Miranda Egan-Langley BL prosecuting that when Keating passed Gda Kelly he spoke to him asking – “You are not working today?”
When the garda said he was off duty, Keating replied – “It is a good thing you are not working – I have a slash hook waiting for you”.
Gda Kelly did not reply and continued walking into the centre with his child, who was in a buggy at the time.
He later reported the threat and said he took it very seriously because he didn’t know if Keating had any weapons concealed on him.
A victim impact statement was read into the record by Det Gda Shields. He said he has been threatened “more times than I can count” as a garda but he said this threat was “more serious”.
He said Keating is “as unpredictable as he is violent” and his immediate concern was to get away as quick as possible from him because he was worried, which was exacerbated by the fact that he had his 10-month-old son with him.
Gda Kelly said he is thankful that his son is too young to remember the incident but he said his partner was very concerned afterwards and moved out of their home, along with their children, for a short period of time because of these concerns.
Gda Kelly said she “still harbours concerns that my work will follow me home”, before he commented that his family should never have to suffer because of his job.
He said Keating made the threat with “casualness and callousness” and “confidence and arrogance” in public.
The court heard that previous to issuing these threats Keating left a victim with cuts to his face and the side of his head. The attack was thought to be related to a drug debt. Photographs of the victim’s injuries were handed into the court.
Det Gda Shields accepted that it was known that Keating was a drug addict who had a history of mental health issues.
Eamonn O’Moore BL defending told the court that his client was a member of a local boxing club.
He said his client had written a letter of apology to Gda Kelly.
Judge Eugene O’Kelly said in the assault case the State anticipated that the victim would not give evidence so the Director of Public Prosecutions accepted a plea to a more minor assault charge.
He noted Keating’s previous convictions for both assault causing harm and threats to kill.
Judge O’Kelly said Keating’s threats to Gda Kelly were “menacing” and they had a significant harmful effect on the experienced garda. He noted the ongoing concern the officer’s partner has that “his work will follow him home”.
The judge said threatening a garda in such a serious way cannot be tolerated.
He acknowledged from a letter from Keating that at the time he was frustrated because of the nightly checks being carried out on him to ensure that he was properly keeping to his bail terms.
Judge O’Kelly said Keating said that he took out his frustration on Gda Kelly as he was passing him by.
The judge imposed consecutive terms of imprisonment totalling seven and a half years. He suspended a total of 15 months meaning Keating has an effective prison term of six years and three months.