Man jailed for Offaly offences hopes to come out of prison sober
A MAN imprisoned recently for Birr graffiti offences received another sentence at Tullamore District Court recently.
Paul Lanier (24), High Street, Birr was arrested for his own safety when he was intoxicated and abusive at 2.19am on April 21, 2022 at High Street, Birr.
Mr Lanier appeared in custody before Judge Andrew Cody and his solicitor Donal Farrelly entered a guilty plea to public order charges.
Sergeant James O'Sullivan told the court the accused was currently serving a four-month sentence for a criminal damage conviction arising from the graffiti.
Mr Farrelly said the public order prosecution arose when gardai went to his property to arrest him in relation to other matters. He had been intoxicated inside the premises and was then intoxicated when he was arrested outside.
The solicitor recalled that when Mr Lanier had been convicted of the graffiti offence recently he asked to be remanded in custody for a week himself to deal with his alcohol problems. Mr Farrelly said that “happily” his client was in a much better state now that he was in the Midlands Prison and he hoped to come out of there sober.
The accused man, a father of two young children, had been homeless and that aggravated his alcohol problems. The solicitor asked Judge Cody to take this latest offence into account with the sentence Mr Lanier is already serving.
Judge Cody imposed a one-month suspended sentence and also granted legal aid.
The criminal damage charges related to Mr Lanier spraypainting the word 'APERS' on a number of premises in Birr on November 1/2 last year, including a wall at Lyndon's Flats, Keal's Archway; a wall and turnstile at St Brendan's GAA Club; a wall at Doctor McAuliffe's surgery, Green Street; a side door at a HSE premises on Church Lane; a wall at To Go, Main Street and a wall at Shop and Hotel Supplies, Brendan Street.
When Mr Lanier appeared in court in March he was asked by Judge Cody what the acronym APERS stood for. The defendant replied: “All pursue easy routes to success”.
“I would suggest that he abandons this particular version of what he thinks to be successful ways of acting and adopt more positive ways of behaving, ways of behaving which really are in fact successful,” remarked the judge.