A MAN WHO had to be dragged from a burning Garda patrol car – which he set on fire while sitting handcuffed in the back seat – has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Darren Moran (18), Ballybrit, Co Galway, used a cigarette lighter to set fire to the front seats of the patrol car after he was handcuffed and placed in the rear seat following a row with his partner on December 7th last.
He is the father of two children.
Gardaí were called to his home at 1.45am where they met Moran, who was covered in his own blood.
He admitted smashing windows in his home following a row with his partner. He was intoxicated and aggressive and gardaí handcuffed him and placed him in the rear of the car.
When they went to check on his partner and children, Moran used the lighter to set fire to the car seats. He had to be dragged from the burning car and resisted being taken out, Insp Pat McHugh told the court.
Moran pleaded guilty to the arson charge which caused €1,000 worth of damage to the car and to 13 other charges, including for thefts and assaults in 2007 and 2008, against managers at Supervalu, Ballybane, Galway, from which he had been barred.
Galway District Court heard yesterday that he punched one manager in the face when confronted for stealing hot food from the store and spat into the same manager’s face on another date after he was told to leave the store.
Moran threatened another manager at Supervalu in July 2007, who told him he was barred from the store, hitting him on the forehead with a box of firelighters. He continued to enter the store, stealing €100 worth of groceries from it on another date.
Defence solicitor Valerie Corcoran said the state of Moran’s mind on the night he set the patrol car on fire showed he was spiralling out of control at the time.
Imposing sentences totalling 18 months, Judge Mary Fahy said the public had to be protected and the court had to send out a message that members of the public, such as the store managers, had to be respected and protected.