A young St Johnston man has avoided a prison sentence after appearing in court charged with a series of incidents.
Shay Mitchell was placed on a probation bond, in lieu of a nine-month prison sentence when he appeared before Letterkenny District Court on Wednesday.
Mitchell was charged with making threats to kill or cause serious harm to two people during an incident at Letterkenny Road, Lifford, at 4.50pm on August 30, 2020. He also faced charges of dangerous driving, drug-driving, driving without insurance and driving without a licence in relation to incidents on other dates.
Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that Mitchell had followed another vehicle and had tried to force his way into the other vehicle.
He was charged with two counts that he did without lawful excuse, make a threat, intending the said persons to believe it would be carried out, to kill or cause them serious harm. The charges are contrary to section 5 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act, 1997.
Mitchell, a 23-year-old of Legnathraw, St Johnston, also faced charges in respect of incidents on three other dates.
On March 26, 2022, Gardai received a call from their colleagues in the PSNI about alleged dangerous driving and gave a partial registration number. At 10.45pm, Gardai observed the vehicle and followed it. During the course of the journey, they saw the vehicle commit ‘several dangerous manoeuvres’ and travel on the wrong side of small back roads, Sergeant Jim Collins told the court.
Mitchell faced a total of five dangerous driving charges over the incident. The vehicle came to a stop at Legnathraw, St Johnston and during interactions gardai believed that Mitchell was under the influence of an intoxicant.
He subsequently tested positive for the presence of cannabis in his system.
Mitchell was also charged with driving without insurance and a driving licence on March 24, 2022, having been spoken to by gardai after taking off and fleeing away from a checkpoint.
He was further charged with drug-driving in relation to an incident at Donegal Road, Ballybofey on October 4, 2022. Sergeant Collins outlined that gardai attended the scene of an accident. Mitchell returned to the scene and admitted to being the driver before a blood sample confirmed the presence of illegal drugs in his system.
A demand was made for Mitchell to produce documents and he failed to do so.
Mr Patsy Gallagher, solicitor for Mitchell, said his client has now ‘changed his life around completely’ and has ‘gasped the opportunity from the Probation Service with both hands’.
“He is hoping that he will be able, if the court allows, to take up the opportunity that has been afforded to him,” Mr Gallagher said. “He is happy to comply with the recommendations. He is willing to work and can work.”
Mr Gallagher said Mitchell, who has a total of five previous convictions, ‘fully accepts that his licence is gone’.
Judge Ciaran Liddy said the most serious incident was the forced entry to the vehicle on August 30, 2020.
Judge Liddy placed Mitchell on a probation order, on condition that he abide by the recommendations of the Probation Service, in lieu of nine months imprisonment, with the sentence suspended for 12 months.
Mitchell was also disqualified for driving for two years for drug-driving while a further two-year disqualification was imposed for dangerous driving. The disqualifications are to run concurrently.
“To put it in a nutshell, you are not going to prison,” Judge Liddy told Mitchell. “You have a very positive report and have fully engaged with the Probation Service. You have made my task easier.”