Man living in tent had homemade spear, Kildare court hears
Photo for illustrative purposes only
A homeless man who threatened gardaí with a homemade spear requiring the intervention of the ARU for apprehension, and who damaged a nearby house with stone-throwing in an unrelated incident, was remanded in custody for the former, and fined €400 for the latter.
Robert Serafin (52) of no fixed abode but living in a tent at Frenchfurze on the Curragh, appeared in Naas District Court from custody on 4 September following his arrest the day before.
Garda Cian Horan told the court how Serafin was charged with a total of nine offences, including possession of articles, to wit, two Stanley knives, five screwdrivers, and the spear fashioned out of a screwdriver tied to the top of a stick.
He was also charged with the theft of bread rolls and vodka from Aldi back in July 2023, as well as criminal damage to a home in Kildare town on 31 August, and 1 September.
Garda Horan told Judge Desmond Zaidan that he was formally opposing bail on the weapons charges specifically because “I’m concerned he won’t turn up”.
The garda explained that with the criminal damage allegation, the defendant was not known to the injured party, but that by throwing stones over a wall indiscriminately he had broken the windscreen of a car valued at €500.
Moving on to the more serious matters of the weapons offences, Garda Horan told the court: “He’d be well known around Kildare town, and with alcohol, he can be very aggressive.”
He added: “We heard he was living about 300m from the (damaged) house, and when speaking to him he produced a screwdriver, a flick knife, a Stanley blade out of the tent.
“For our own safety we called the Garda Armed Response Unit (ARU)."
“He threatened you?” asked the judge.
“Intimidation,” said Garda Horan.
“Pepper spray had to be used,” he said, before producing the homemade spear from beneath him.
The bough was about a metre long, maybe a centimetre thick, and it had 20cm screwdriver tied securely to the top.
“Is that for spear fishing? A bit of Robinson Crusoe?” said the judge.
We’ve had dealings with him before,” said the garda.
“He is known around Kildare town, so he wouldn’t be hard to find,” said defending solicitor Brian Larkin.
Garda Horan also noted that Mr Serafin was charged with the theft of the two bread rolls from Aldi on 9 August “when he had access to €244 social welfare”.
When under the influence, he is a serious nuisance,” surmised the judge.
“The screwdriver on a stick? On a dark night, even I wouldn’t like to have to face that,” said Garda Horan.
“This man is living in a tent and has been burgled twice,” said Mr Larkin.
“He’s wild with alcohol, a threat,” maintained Garda Horan.
“I’ve never refused bail solely because of homelessness, but can you give me any guarantee that he won’t use that weapon?” asked the judge rhetorically.
“I give him bail and hear on the news someone got stabbed on the canal, the whole world will be banging on my door.
“Gardaí are afraid to do this job without fear, to use reasonable force and something goes wrong, but that’s the Irish world we’re living in now.
“I tend to believe him; it’s a rough world out there … but I can’t predict him when he has alcohol,” noted the judge, before remanding Mr Serafin into custody for another week, and setting bond at €400.
“If he takes up bail, and found drunk in public that will be a breach of bail,” he concluded.
