Head shop owner's 12-month jail term suspended at Mullingar court

A 44-year-old man from Slanemore in Mullingar was given a 12-month suspended sentence at a recent sitting of Mullingar District Court after he pleaded guilty to charges of under Section 3 of the Offences Against the Person Act and Section 19 of the Public Order Act.Paul Mason brought €5,000 in cash to court to offer as compensation in the case and Judge Aeneas McCarthy said that he would suspend the sentence in light of the offer. The €5,000 cash was handed over in court and is to be given to the Open Door Project which is based at Patrick Street in Mullingar.The court heard that Paul Mason had obstructed Gardaí from enforcing a bench warrant after on duty officers saw a jeep belonging to a man they were looking for parked outside the Greville Arms on Pearse St at 12.40am on March 17 2009.Mr Mason tried to stop Gardaí from arresting the man who had been in his company and was "extremely abusive", Garda Brian Freyne told the court.Mr Mason then tried to go back into the Greville Arms but was stopped by door staff who had seen the incident with the Gardaí.Mr Mason again became aggressive and assaulted Mr Damien Kelly who was working as a bouncer on the door of the Greville Arms.The court heard that Mr Mason had three previous convictions under Section 6 of the Public Order Act and also had a conviction under Section 3 of the Offences of the Person Act as well as two previous convictions for driving with no insurance.Ms Patricia Cronin, the solicitor acting for Mr Mason, began her defence by asking for legal aid to be removed from the case file. Ms Cronin told the court that Mr Mason had been acting to help a friend on the evening in question and said that the man who Gardaí had been attempting to arrest had only just recovered from injuries sustained in a serious car crash three months prior to the date of the offence.She told the court that her client had tried to get back into the Greville Arms to collect his belongings and having had too much to drink became aggressive when he was refused entry. She said that her client, who has a partner and four children, had accepted that his actions were wrong and had offered an apology to the Gardaí and to the court.Ms Cronin told the court that her client had lost a business some time ago but was again solvent and was the owner of three retail outlets."What does he retail?" asked the judge. "I believe that they are known as head shops," replied Ms Cronin.On his own request Mr Mason took the stand and told the court that he had started drinking again after seven years and that alcohol had been at the root of his conduct on the evening. He told the court that he was hard working and was trying to stop drinking.Inspector Ciaran Keyes told the court that Mr Mason was currently involved in another section 2 assault case. "These assaults are a common thread in your behaviour," he said. He also questioned whether alcohol was Mr Mason's only problem.In accepting the €5,000 Judge McCarthy said that "head shops must be very lucrative" and noted that he was suspending the 12-month sentence because compensation had been offered.A conviction was recorded on the assault charge and the charge of obstructing Gardai was taken into consideration.