Enniskillen Court House, RMGFH04
AN ENNISKILLEN woman has punctured another woman’s tyre in what a judge has said was a case of “the drink in and the sense out.”
Amy Johnston (20) of Kilmacormick Avenue appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court on Monday for sentence after pleading guilty to criminal damage.
At approximately 2.20am on April 11 police attended the address of the injured party, who had reported she had heard noises outside that sounded like people laughing.
The woman looked out her window and had seen Johnston kneeling at her car, which was parked outside. The woman could then hear a hissing noise coming from the car, as if air was being let out of the tyres.
The woman, who had CCTV on her house which she later watched, went out and one of the back tyres of the Audi A4 had been punctured and was flat. It cost £80-90 to repair. Johnston gave no comment when interviewed on the matter.
District Judge Ted McGill said her actions were “just stupidity”, and her defence barrister Ciaran Roddy agreed it was “infantile”, explaining alcohol had played a role. Mr Roddy said Johnston, has since curbed her drinking to twice a month.
The barrister explained Johnson was the subject of a suspended sentence on an unrelated matter, and said while the offence of criminal damage in this case didn’t cross the custody threshold,
Judge McGill told Johnston “you know yourself there was no sense to this”, adding “it seems like a case of the drink in and the sense out.” The judge said it was open to the court to send Johnston to prison, but he wasn’t going to because it was “not the most serious offence, it was just stupidity.”
The judge order Johnston to pay the car owner £80 and gave her a conditional discharge of two years, meaning if she stays out of trouble she will not receive a conviction on this occasion.
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