Jail for Donegal man who told mother he'd 'put her teeth down her throat'

Gavin Mitchell appeared before Letterkenny District Court

By: irishmirror.ie

Sep 06 2024
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Jail for Donegal man who told

A Donegal man who threatened his mother that he would "put her teeth down her throat” has been jailed for a year.

Gavin Mitchell appeared before Letterkenny District Court charged with a range of thefts as well as having a hammer in his possession in a public place and breaching a safety order. The 46-year-old, who is originally from Letterkenny, is now of no fixed abode and is in custody in Castlerea Prison. Mitchell pleaded guilty to five counts of theft.

The court heard how on January 21, 2021 at Your Delicatessen, Pearse Road, Letterkenny, Mitchell forced open the door premises and entered as a trespasser, stealing €200 cash and a cash drawer therein. The money was not recovered, the court was told.

On April 18, 2021, Mitchell entered China Town, Main Street, Letterkenny, as a trespasser, stealing €10 from behind the countertop. Gardaí noted that the backdoor was damaged. The money was not recovered.

On June 13, 2023, at Aldi, Gortlee, Letterkenny, Mitchell stole a 12 pack of Budweiser to the value of €14.50 by concealing it. Mitchell was captured on CCTV. The goods were not recovered.

The court heard how on October 9, 2023 at Lower Main Street in Letterkenny, gardaí found Mitchell in possession of a hammer and was threatening to use it on other people present. The offence is contrary to the Section 9 (5) Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990.

Mitchell also pleaded guilty to the theft of a black Huawei phone on November 22, 2023 at Lower Main Street. The phone, valued at €300, was the property of Conor Finnerty and Mitchell was captured on CCTV stealing the item before it was later found in his possession.

The accused also pleaded guilty to stealing a bottle of Morgan Spiced from Tesco Ireland Limited, Letterkenny Shopping Centre on April 8, 2024.

The court was also told Mitchell contravened a safety order on three occasions on July 18, 2024, February 22, 2023 and October 9, 2023 at Windmill View, Letterkenny.

On one occasion Mitchell attended the home of his mother in a highly intoxicated state and was aggressive to her, threatening to “shut her up or put her teeth down her throat”.

The court heard how on another occasion, Mitchell’s mother had reported to gardaí that her son had acted in an aggressive manner towards her and had threatened to use a hammer. Mitchell has 67 previous convictions, the vast majority of which are under the Theft Act, the court was told.

Solicitor for the accused, Mr Frank Dorrian told the court that his client has suffered with addiction since his adolescence. “My client’s brother passed away in January of this year after falling from a roof,” he said.

“His death has had a profound impact on my client. He and his brother were homeless. They had been sleeping in a multi storey car park and in the tubular slides in a playground at one point.

“He tells me all of the offences were committed as a result of poverty. He was taking a synthetic drug called Spice. There is now, however, a degree of reflectiveness that comes from my client. The thefts were the result of trying to get food or alcohol.

“He has had very few stabilising influences in his life, and he tells me that one of the few is his mother. He has been in prison since July 19th. His only home is a hostel in Dungloe. He is completely destitute and he is repentant. The loss of his brother in January has brought a certain clarity to him that life is short and precious.”

The court was told there was no Victim Impact Statement available from Mitchell’s mother despite attempts to get one. Passing sentence, Judge Eiteain Cunningham said she noted that two of the offences were committed while Mitchell was on bail for other charges.

She sentenced Mitchell to six months in prison on Section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act after he breached a safety order and also six months on one of the theft charges.

She ordered that both charges should run consecutively meaning Mitchell will serve one year in prison with the sentence being backdated to July 19th when he went into custody.

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