A judge used to recuse himself from hearing the case of a shipment driver who pleaded guilty to kicking a dog as he informed the court: “I’m a dog owner and have been for many years.”
Judge James McNulty put the possibility of recusing himself from the case to lawyer Killian McCarthy, who was safeguarding previous DPD driver Stephen Desmond in Bandon District Court. Mr Desmond, 33, had actually pleaded guilty to kicking a shih tzu coming from a man in Kinsale and to whom he was providing a parcel.
The homeowner found Mr Desmond on his home’s CCTV system kicking the dog as he went into eviction of the property while bring the parcel. He then reported the event to gardaí last October.
Judge McNulty was informed that at 11am on October 25 last Mr Desmond was making shipments and went into eviction of the property in Kinsale. He left the parcel outside, having actually called the doorbell, and informed the homeowner he did not require a signature for the shipment.
Sgt Paul Kelly said that the citizen at the property saw that a person of his 2 shih tzus seemed “cowering” and after that ran directly into your home to its bed, while the other dog was acting entirely in a different way.
On examining his CCTV, the homeowner saw Mr Desmond kick the dog in the head and jaw location.
During an interview with gardaí 2 days later on Mr Desmond confessed he had actually kicked the dog and was “very apologetic” for what took place, including that he had actually believed the dog may run previous him onto the roadway.
Mr McCarthy said there had actually been a previous event where Mr Desmond had actually been blamed when a dog got away as he had actually made a shipment. The court heard Mr Desmond had actually no previous convictions and had when received the advantage of the Probation Act.
Judge McNulty said: “I am a dog owner. So if you think that disqualifies me, I will disqualify myself.” Mr McCarthy said that was not required. He said his customer had actually been working for a multi-national previous to the pandemic and had actually signed up with DPD in March 2020.
Stephen Desmond had a previous address at 21A Church St, Shandon St, Cork, however Mr McCarthy said he was now living and operating in the UK. He said his customer was really regretful, had actually called the dog owner straight and had actually used to spend for any veterinary check outs and to make a charitable contribution.
The judge offered Desmond credit for his early guilty plea and taking a trip to Ireland to fulfill the case. He decreased the deal of a charitable contribution and founded guilty Desmond of the offense, fining him €300. Recognisance for a subsequent appeal was set at Mr Desmond’s own bond of €300.
