By Garrett Hargan
A Derry man with mental health issues, who hasn’t help his condition by abusing alcohol and drugs, has been jailed for causing criminal damage, at the city’s Magistrates Court.
Ryan Tracey, 27, of Bridge Street, admitted causing damage a fire alarm belonging to Baltimore House, damaging a PSNI vehicle, disorderly behaviour at Altnagelvin Hospital and two breaches of a suspended sentence on May 18 of this year.
The court heard that a sentence of two months suspended for one year was imposed on May 17 and the defendant committed the aforementioned offences the following day.
Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley told the court that his client has ‘huge mental health issues’ which were ‘complicated by abuse of alcohol and medication’.
Outlining the case, a Public Prosecution Service (PPS) representative said police were called due to concerns about the safety of Tracey. He was said to have sustained a cut to his arm and there was a ‘huge amount of blood’ outside his address.
The 27-year-old was located in a flat inside where there was a ‘considerable amount of blood’ from a laceration on his arm/hand. He ignored officers and offered no explanation as to how the injuries came about.
A witness believed he had cut his hand on a window in an effort to gain access to the premises in which he was staying and had been drinking before.
The police were concerned about his injuries, the Public Prosecutor explained, and in a communal area Tracey repeatedly punched a fire alarm, causing damage to it and setting it off. He was said to have been obstructive to police and spat on a glass window in the PSNI vehicle.
Disorderly
While in hospital, the 27-year-old was ‘abusive towards staff’, threatened to stab medical professionals and shouted ‘tiocfaidh ár lá’, the PPS representative said.
At interview he told officers he couldn’t recall anything because he had been ‘drinking from the morning’.
Mr Quigley said his client has a ‘very lengthy criminal record’ and ‘accepts he is going to jail today, if nothing else, by virtue of the fact the court was lenient with him on Thursday (May 17).’ He asked for the appropriate authorities to assess Tracey’s mental health issues when he enters prison.
District Judge Barney McElholm sentenced the 27-year-old to a total of six months in prison. He added: “Its clear he was very drunk on this occasion which would not help with his mental health issues. It’s the court’s recommendation that he has a mental health assessment when he arrives at his destination.
“He clearly has mental health issues but it doesn’t help when he uses drink and/or drugs on top of it.”
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