Man jailed for threatening man with imitation firearm

By Natasha Reid

A father of three has been jailed for three years for turning up at an innocent man’s home with an imitation firearm and threatening to put a bullet in his head.

As a result of the incident, the injured party, Geoffrey Keating, upgraded his security, bought a car and learned to drive, and is currently trying to move his family out of the area.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Alan Morrison (45) of Whitestown Avenue, Mulhuddart, Dublin, pleaded guilty to the possession of a realistic imitation firearm at an address in Finglas, in Dublin on December 6, 2023. He has 67 previous convictions.

Garda Jamie Greville of Finglas Garda Station said that he became aware of an armed incident at Mr Keating’s address at 9 o’clock that night.

The arms support unit arrived before him, and there were two people on the ground, with a small black handgun on the ground between them. It wasn’t clear what was going on, and Mr Keating had been initially handcuffed.

It transpired that the accused had turned up unannounced at Mr Keating’s address and demanded €30,000 for an alleged drug debt. However, Gda Greville confirmed that Mr Keating had never been involved in drugs.

He said that there had been some confusion on Morrison’s part, as a quantity of drugs had been found in a field some distance behind Mr Keating’s house, and Morrison had made an incorrect assumption.

Mr Keating told gardaí that the accused had produced the weapon and threatened to “put a bullet in his head”. However, Mr Keating had been able to subdue the situation by using a weapon belonging to his son, which was the one found on the ground.

Gardaí searched the accused and found an imitation firearm in his right trouser leg.

His 67 previous convictions were mostly for road traffic matters. However, he had been sentenced to 12 years in 2009 for possession of drugs for sale or supply.

Judge Elva Duffy asked Gda Greville about Mr Keating overpowering the accused.

“The gardaí didn’t have any concerns as to any firearm used during that?” she asked.

The judge was told that the injured party had a visit the previous evening by another person and was very much on edge.

“He was very scared,” he explained.

The judge was also told that Mr Keating had suffered an aggravation of a knee injury and that he had also injured his vocal cords, due to the amount of shouting involved.

Having not been a driver beforehand, he obtained a driving licence and spent €10,300 on a car for added safety. He upgraded the security on his home, and the court was also told that he was trying to move his family from Finglas to another area.

Defence barrister Greg Murphy BL said there was no evidence of the vocal cord injury and asked the court to disregard the €10,300, as it was unvouched.

“I’m taking account of this as an impact on his life, not a monetary value,” responded the judge.

Mr Murphy handed in a letter from his client’s partner, who said that his young family miss him greatly. The court heard that one of his children is an adult and that he had missed out on much of that childhood.

He also said that Morrison was an active member of his community, helped out with his neighbourhood, and was a member of St Joseph’s Horse and Pony Club, in which the gardai were also involved.

Counsel said that the accused was now clean of heroin and was engaging with prison supports since going into custody that day.

He explained that he had a diagnosis of PTSD arising out of his time in St Lawrence’s Institution when younger and had started on drugs and alcohol at 15 and 16 years of age.

He asked court to structure his sentence to incentivise his rehabilitation, re-integrate him into the community, and give him a minimum of 18 months of support on his release.

“He wants to be the breadwinner for his family,” he said. “He has asked me to convey his apology. He appreciates what he has done.”

The judge responded that this wasn’t a drug-related offence.

“Do you want to address me on why he turned up to an innocent man’s home with an imitation firearm and told him he was going to put a bullet in his head?” she asked.

Morrison’s legal team was then given time to consult with him in court.

“He started heroin in 2023, and had built up a debt of €20,000, and it’s this that caused him to commit this offence,” said Mr Murphy when he returned.

On consulting with gardaí, the prosecution informed the court that the accused hadn’t been there on behalf of anyone else on the night.

“That Christmas and the rest of their lives have been blighted by the sudden arrival of this accused onto their doorstep,” remarked the judge. “Gardaí had no issue that he had a gun as he had been on high alert.”

She noted that he had got a car for his family and a driving licence to be able to get away from their house if required.

She also noted that he was placed on medication by his doctor, but didn’t take it, as he wanted to be at his full senses in case something happened.

“That is a terrible position for any innocent person to be in,” she commented. “To feel that they need to be able to escape, that they don’t feel they can take the medicine that would make them less anxious.”

She also noted the fact that he had to train his children in how to defend themselves, he was not sleeping, had lost weight and had flashbacks.

“There appears to have been a certain amount of preplanning,” she said of the accused. “He was got the better of on the night in question.”

She accepted that he’d had a very troubled youth and could be a valued member of society.

She said that the maximum sentence of five years was appropriate, but imposed a four-year sentence after taking the mitigating factors into consideration.

She suspended the final 12 months for two years on a number of conditions.