Man (63) wielded knife at asylum seeker in Dublin migrant camp
A dog walker was sentenced to three months in jail after being convicted of brandishing a knife at an asylum seeker in a Dublin migrant camp.
Raymond Lawless (63), of St Andrew's Court, was found guilty of the production of a knife at Sandwith Street, both in Dublin 2, on May 8th, 2023.
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He denied the offensive weapon charge but was found guilty by Judge John Hughes at Dublin District Court, handed a sentence, and fined €500.
In evidence, the complainant said he was an asylum seeker who had been living in a tent in the encampment.
He alleged: "This man came around chasing everybody in the place with a knife".
He described it as a kitchen knife and recalled Lawless had his small Yorkshire terrier with him.
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However, he said the accused threatened to return later with two bigger dogs to "chase us back to wherever we came from".
The witness said he called gardaí to report the man coming into the camp to attack "me and two or three guys". He stated he tried to rescue his friends from Lawless.
Cross-examined, he agreed he was intimidated not by the little dog with Lawless but because he said he would come back with two big dogs.
Challenged over his knife claim, the defence barrister told the witness that Lawless had a trowel for cleaning up after his dog.
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"It was a knife," he replied.
Garda Alan Cawley obtained CCTV footage from the area and took statements. The video evidence was played during the hearing.
Rejecting the accusation when he took the stand, Lawless insisted he just went out to walk his dog and had a small garden trowel to clean up after his pet.
He said he vaguely remembered the day and denied having anything on him to frighten anyone.
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Reacting to the complainant's evidence, Lawless said, "That's a complete lie; I deny that," adamant that he never went around carrying a knife.
Questioned by the prosecutor, he confirmed he knew there was a refugee camp there because he lived across the road.
He said he no longer had the trowel because the dog had died and got rid of all his pet's things.
When told the item looked like a knife, he replied, "It may do, but I was not carrying a knife." He added that he never spoke to anyone in the camp.
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Judge Hughes did not accept his account and said it was "abundantly clear" in the CCTV footage that he was carrying a silver, chrome and long knife distinct from a garden trowel.
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He noted that the accused had one previous conviction for assault causing harm, which led to a Circuit Court imposing an 18-month suspended sentence in 2012.
The court heard he had been receiving cancer treatment.
Judge Hughes imposed the fine and a nine-month sentence but suspended the final six months on condition he did not reoffend in two years, had no contact with the complainant, stayed away from Sandwith Street, and completed an anger-management course.
Lawless was released after lodging appeal bail.
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