A Kildare woman who injured her partner after firing a shotgun after learning he was having an affair has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
Andrea Booth, 48, of Nurney Bog Road, Nurney, Co Kildare pleaded guilty at Naas Circuit Criminal Court to recklessly discharging a firearm on October 7, 2020 in the home she shared with partner Patrick Healy, in breach of section 8 of the Act on firearms and offensive weapons of 1990, reports RTE.
Gardaí James Young told the court the couple had been drinking at a pub in the town of Kildare the previous night, where Mr Healy had drunk eight pints and the defendant had also had some alcohol before returning to their log cabin outside Nurney.
The court heard Mr Healy heard his partner smash his car and later his legally held shotgun into the bedroom wall.
Gda Young said a pistol was fired during the incident and Mr Healy was injured by two pellets that hit him in the arm.
The court heard that the couple had reconciled and were in a stable relationship, with Mr Healy accompanying his partner to court.
She recalled that when she sat on the bed, she felt the gun was “long and heavy,” reports RTE.
Gda Young said that Booth then remembered hearing a bang that she said, “Scared the shit out of me,” reports RTE.
She added: “I never wanted to hurt him,” reports RTE.
Gda Young said the defendant didn’t really remember the incident and didn’t even know if she intended to fire the gun.
Booth’s attorney, Tony McGillicuddy SC, said the parole report showed his client’s risk of reoffending was low.
The lawyer said his client is the eldest of six children and works as a cashier at Dunnes Stores.
Mr McGillicuddy asked for leniency and said Booth had learned a very hard lesson from the incident.
Judge Martin Nolan found that Mr. Healy sustained minor injuries from bullets fired from a pistol after Booth “accidentally but recklessly” fired the pistol.
The judge noted that the case showed that the storage of guns in homes can lead to all sorts of incidents.
“If the victim was a bit more unlucky, she could be in a different court. Everybody was somewhat lucky,” Judge Nolan remarked, reports RTE.
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