This article is from page 4 of the 2013-11-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
A DISTRICT court judge told a young defendant before him at Kilrush District Court that he could assist others and society if he was willing to publicise photos of life in a house drug addicts use to shoot up and smoke.
Mitchell Walsh, 20 St Patrick’s Terrace, Kilrush, pleaded guilty to 15 charges following a “crime spree” dating from March to mid October.
The court heard that the 19 year-old who did not have a criminal record prior to 2013, “had physical and mental inflictions” and began to self medicate by turning to drugs, eventually ending up on the streets before being rescued by his family.
The father of the defendant Martin Walsh said his son needed to be taken into hand. “He was going to die and that was the truth of it,” he said.
Mr Walsh Snr said the family were devastated by what had happened, and had attempted to pay for all the damage to the cars of the people of the town where they live.
“You just can’t leave someone like that behind especially when it is your own son. I think a lot of this was because Mitchell could not manage his surgery,” he said referring to a colostomy bag the young man had fitted following stomach surgery.
The concerned father said his son went to the street to get “medication”.
Mr Walsh (Snr) then presented two photos to Judge Patrick Durcan, depicting family life with Mitchell before addiction and life on the streets.
“There is a place not far from here where they go in and smoke heroin and shoot up and we went in there and took photos to show you,” he said. “There are a lot more in there than Mitchell.”
The father told the court that the situation was tough on all his family.
“There was times when I had to go and rub blood off this child because he self harmed,” he said.
Mr Walsh (Jnr) pleaded guilty to all charges including using threatening and abusive behaviour in Francis Street Kilrush on June 3, 2013, being in possession of a knife at Hector Street Kilrush on June 28 and being intoxicated in a public place on August 15, 2013.
Earlier that month on August 2, he was again arrested and charged for breaching the peace in Moyasta Kilrush, and on March 31 he was arrested for driving unaccompanied under a learners permit.
He also pleaded guilty to slashing the tires on five different vehicles parked on Toler Street, Kilrush, on the night of June 27 to June 28, 2013. One tyre in two vehicles were damaged and two tyres each on three vehicles.
At an unknown date from October 11, 2013, to October 12, 2013, Mr Walsh again slashed a tyre on five cars on Wood Road, Kilrush. He also pleaded guilty to slashing six tyres on three different cars on St Senan’s Terace on October 12, 2013. Continued on page 8