Boyle chucked a fire grate through the window of the house
A MAN with 165 previous convictions who caused €3,500 to a house has been given another chance by a judge.
Brendan Boyle, who is 50, is already serving a prison sentence in Castlerea. He is due for release this October.
Letterkenny Circuit Court heard how Boyle trashed a house he was renting in Hazelbrook Crescent in Letterkenny on the afternoon of Sunday, October 1, last year, just days after being told by his landlord to quit the premises.
He threw a fire grate through a front window and then began to demolish kitchen cabinets. The front door had been taken off its hinges.
Gardaí arrived after a neighbour reported the disturbance.
The court was told the father of four had struggled with alcohol addiction through his life and all or most of his previous convictions were drink-related.
He is an expert carpenter and had been using his time in prison to make model toys from wood. The court he wanted to start a new life when he is released from prison in October.
Judge John O’Hagan said what he was going to do with Boyle was “a little bit unusual”.
Addressing the defendant, who faced criminal damage charges, the judge told him: “I am going to give you a chance.”
He ordered that Boyle should be released from his current sentence as planned in October and ordered him to do 150 hours of community service upon is release.
Boyle said: “Thank you judge, thank you.”