Eniskillen court house
A previous tenant who harassed the new occupant of his former home leaving him and his family ‘uneasy’ and ‘intimidated’ has been given a conditional discharge for a period of two years.
In the case heard at Enniskillen Magistrates Court the prosecutor explained police were contacted by the owner of the premises Brendan Gallagher, who told them of ongoing harassment between April 1 and May 26, 2013 directed against his tenant Ryan Scott by 29-year-old Gabriel Michael Maguire, of Kilmacormick Road, Enniskillen.
Police then spoke to Mr Scott, who made a statement of complaint.
It was explained that Maguire was a previous tenant of Mr Gallagher and it was accepted there had been ‘major issues’ during his tenancy.
When Mr Scott was moving into the premises he was first warned by the defendant: “Do you know what you’re getting yourself into?”
Issues then began to arise with Maguire driving slowly past the house, causing concern to the injured party’s wife and young children.
There was also an issue with the water supply at the house, but no evidence linked the defendant to this incident.
After this Scott reported another instance of Maguire driving slowly down the road past his house.
When Scott informed the landlord of this an altercation occurred between the parties, with Maguire saying: “Have you realised what you have got yourself into with Gallagher, your electricity is next.”
After this altercation Scott reported another incident of Maguire ‘crawling’ past his house with the windows down. The prosecutor explained that Scott and his family had been left ‘intimidated’ and ‘unsettled’ by these incidents and were ‘uneasy’ going out in front of the house.
Since the last reported incident of harassment in May Maguire was witnessed only once driving past Scott’s house.
During interview the defendant admitted the behaviour and said it was due to issues he had with the landlord whom he alleged had ‘fleeced’ him out of money.
He told police he had wanted to warn the new tenant. It was noted in court that the defendant and injured party had no previous connection before these incidents.
Defence barrister Stephen Mooney explained that Maguire’s tenancy had been one ‘fraught with difficulties’. He stated there was no animosity towards Mr Scott and offered apologies on the defendant’s behalf.
Mr Mooney said that in the future Maguire would keep his festering anger and resentment within himself and noted it was unlikely there would be anything of a similar nature in the future.
District judge Nigel Broderick said that the facts to the case were somewhat unusual and suggested that due to the nature of the events it was more ‘indirect harassment’.
“Nevertheless he and his family were made feel uneasy, perhaps in fear of what actions you might take,” commented the judge.
He noted that the offences were perhaps at the slightly lower end and no threats were made, but recognised the injured party’s concerns.
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