A man received a three-and-a-half-year suspended sentence for making more than thirty fraudulent 999 calls in two years, reports The Mirror.
At the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, James Kelly, 32, of Rochford Green, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, entered a guilty plea to six sample counts of wilfully fabricating a report on dates from February 2021 to March 2023. The court was informed that the maximum sentence it could impose was five years.
The court heard that the Gardaí investigated every bogus claim, going from home to house and watching hours of CCTV video, reports The Mirror.
Kelly claimed to have been the victim of an attempted armed robbery in one instance. He met the Gardaí and lodged a complaint after they replied to his 999 call. Officers searched the neighbourhood for CCTV video, including five cameras from the LUAS, as part of the follow-up inquiry.
The video showed Kelly, but there was no suspect robber. Before it was determined that there had been no crime, one officer canvassed tape for 30 days and followed up on the case for four months. At a prior sentencing hearing in June of last year, Judge Pauline Codd said that Kelly’s actions were a total waste of Garda time and resources, reports The Mirror.
Kelly was sentenced on Monday, stating that he had caused significant annoyance to others who already had enough work to handle. Judge Codd ruled that a five-year headline sentence was appropriate given the frequency of the calls.
She considered mitigating circumstances in the case, such as the fact that Kelly had previously battled addiction and that urine examination revealed she had tested negative for a number of illegal substances. According to many testimonies, Judge Codd also observed that Kelly has demonstrated his ability to live a pro-social life and volunteers at a nearby football team, reports The Mirror.
She sentenced him to three and a half years in prison, which she suspended in full with rigorous requirements, such as interacting with the Probation Service for a year and attending different addiction support programs as instructed by the agency.
Detective Garda At a previous sentencing hearing, prosecutor John Moher BL was informed by Gary Burns that the matter was investigated after a call was received on January 13, 2022, reports The Mirror.
The 999 call that day stated that men were hurling bottles at one another during a brawl that had started at a certain tavern. When the Gardaí arrived a minute later, there were three persons in the pub, and it was soon determined that there had not been any disturbance.
After being previously arrested, held, and interrogated, Kelly voluntarily provided a statement to the Gardaí in March 2023. In his voluntary confession, he accepted culpability but made no admissions during the initial interrogation, reports The Mirror.
He stated he couldn’t tell why he made the calls, but he wanted to apologise for wasting people’s time. “I’m not really sure. He remarked, “I think I need to see someone professionally.” Kelly’s prior convictions include one for a public order violation and two for possession of items.
Kelly is a self-confessed pathological liar, according to counsel, and Detective Garda Burns concurred with Pieter Le Vert BL, who was defending, that his client had persistent drug problems, reports The Mirror.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
