Grandpa “forgot” he had a knife in his pocket when he was searched on the street
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A grandfather who was caught with a knife on a city street “simply forgot” he had it in his pocket, a court has heard.
Martin Quinn, 50, was found with the blade after gardaí noticed he appeared “scared” and searched him.
Judge Treasa Kelly gave him a two-month suspended sentence and fined him €200 after hearing he had 114 previous convictions.
Quinn, of Moorfield Avenue, Clondalkin, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon.
Garda Marc Burke told Dublin District Court that he was on duty in Main Street, Clondalkin on September 22 when he “saw what appeared to be a transaction between two men”.
He followed the defendant, who appeared to be avoiding the Garda as he rounded the corner.
Gda Burke found Quinn waiting for a bus and when approached he appeared concerned and behaved suspiciously. The Garda searched him and found “an object with a blade” in his right jacket pocket. Gda Burke told the judge the device was a “Stanley bladed knife”.
Quinn was arrested and his response after the warning was “guilty.”
“He just forgot he had it,” defense attorney Niall O’Connor said of the knife. Quinn had worked as a milkman before “the drugs got the better of him.” He had a chronic drug problem for a “significant period of time.”
The judge suspended the sentence for two months.
