Mentally ill man was armed with nunchucks
By Conor Gallagher
Wednesday April 14 2010
A mentally ill man who was found in possession of a set of nunchucks in the city centre has been given a suspended sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Andrew Doyle (36) of Rutland Avenue, Seagull House, Crumlin told gardai that he had the martial arts weapon for his own protection.
Judge Desmond Hogan said he believed the matter should have been dealt with in the District Court and sentenced Doyle to six months, suspended in full on strict conditions.
Doyle pleaded guilty to possession of the weapon on O'Connell Street on February 21, 2009.
Garda David Ryan told prosecuting counsel, John Quirke, that he saw Doyle acting suspiciously and approached him. He asked him for his details and Doyle admitted straight away he had the weapon.
He was arrested and charged at Store Street Garda Station before being released. Gda Ryan said Doyle had two previous convictions, for assault and car theft.
Defence counsel David Hegarty said Doyle was dealing with severe mental issues at the time and suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
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