A Donegal man facing a murder trial has been jailed for eight months after stealing a 20 ton lorry and driving through the gates of a fish factory.
Alan Vial, who drove the lorry a large distance through several towns in Donegal, faces further dangerous driving charges in relation to the incident on February 23, 2023.
The 38-year-old, with an address at Drumanoo Head, Killybegs, is in custody at Castlerea Prison having been charged with the murder of Robert Wilkin, whose body was found off Sliabh Liag cliffs last summer.
Vial appeared before Judge Ciaran Liddy at Friday’s sitting of Ballyshannon District Court over a range of incidents.
The court heard Vial climbed a fence at C Fish in Dunkineely and entered a building to obtain the keys to a 20 tonne rigid lorry. After making an unsuccessful attempt to cut a lock on the gates, Vial drove the vehicle through the gates of the factory and made off.
A series of dangerous driving charges, which are the subject of ten summonses, will be before Letterkenny District Court later this month. Guilty pleas have been indicated in relation to those charges.
Vial and the vehicle were subsequently intercepted by gardai.
He was also charged in connection with a public order offence on April 13, 2022. Gardai encountered Vial at Main Street, Killybegs, and he began acting in an aggressive and confrontational manner to officers. After being arrested, Vial was charged and a fixed charge penalty notice issued, but went unpaid.
On May 7, 2022, at Main Street, Killybegs, Gardai had cause to attend a public order incident. Vial and a relative were presented, with the defendant being described as being in a ‘dishevelled’ state with blood on his hands and under the influence of alcohol. Vial was conveyed to Ballyshannon Garda Station and charged.
He was also charged for drug driving on February 3, 2023. During a roads policing day of action, Gardai stopped a blue BMW being driven by Vial, who tested positive for the presence of cannabis when a roadside breath test was conducted. A subsequent blood test at Ballyshannon Garda Station confirmed the presence of cannabis, while Vial also failed to produce insurance.
The court heard that he has previous convictions under the public order act, drink driving and driving without insurance.
Mr Patsy Gallagher, solicitor for Vial, said his client has had issues in the past with alcohol and non-prescriptive drugs.
“He presents here a lot differently to the person who was in that difficulty,” Mr Gallagher said. “We can’t get away from the elephant in the room. He has been in custody for a considerable period of time, but since he has gone into prison he has gone back to education on a full-time basis. He has partook in all addiction courses in prison and his health has taken a dramatic turn for the better.
“He is abiding by all directions of doctors and now does not require medication or therapy. He appreciates that he has a difficult year ahead, but he is being practical.”
Mr Gallagher said his client could not give reasons for the incidents, but said he had mental health issues, which had deteriorated. “He was drunk and in a very dark place,” he said, asking the court to be as lenient as possible.
For the incident regarding the lorry at Dunkineely, Judge Liddy sentenced Vial to eight months in prison.
For the incident in Killybegs on May 7, 2022, he was jailed for one month with the other public order matter marked as taken into consideration. Judge Liddy banned Vial from driving for five years for driving without insurance, noting that he was driving while already disqualified at the time. He imposed a one-year driving ban for the drug-driving offence.
The prison sentences are to run concurrently.
Vial and a co-accused,Nikita Burns (22), of Bundoran West End Accommodation, Westend Magheracar, Bundoran, are accused of murdering Robert Wilkin at a place unknown within the State on June 25, 2023.
Over two hundred witnesses are involved in the case.
Last month at the Central Criminal Court, Mr Justice Paul McDermott fixed a date of January 13, 2025 for the trial, which is expected to last four weeks.