A man who took a taxi from Derry to Letterkenny punched the driver in the face when he asked him for the £30 fair.
Michael McDonagh of The Big Isle, Halting Site, Letterkenny appeared in court charged with assault, making off without paying and using threatening language at the Dry Arch on August 12th last.
Th 24 year old was one of three passengers in the taxi but the other two had fled on foot.
Gardai arrived on the scene and knew McDonagh who became abusive to them and was subsequently arrested.
Solicitor Frank Dorian says his client was quite erratic and he was the first member of the Traveling Community to have become addicted to drugs.
He said the father-of-two is now hoping to attend the White Oaks Clinic.
Judge Paul Kelly said the accused had been given leniency on previous occasions but said this incident had happened while he was on bail.
He said he accepted McDonagh had problems but that his behaviour had resulted in violence for others – twice in the space of just five months.
Judge Kelly Kelly sentenced McDonagh to a total of 240 hours community service in lieu of a total of ten months in prison and also fined him a total of €250.
And the Judge added “That’s the end of my patience with this gentleman and he can consider himself very fortunate today.”