A man who was stopped and questioned by gardaí who intended to search him turned and ran as they were about to do so, the district court has heard.
Sergeant Eimear O’Connell told Bandon District Court that gardaí were on patrol at Glasslyn Road in Bandon, Co Cork, on October 16, 2025, at 6.05pm.
They spotted Daniel O’Driscoll, aged 21, of no fixed abode, and began to question him.
Before O’Driscoll could be searched, however, he fled on foot and jumped over a fence heading towards the Graham Norton walkway.
The court was told O’Driscoll was apprehended later on and searched, but was not in possession of any illegal drugs.
Defence solicitor, Plunkett Taaffe, said his client had been living in a tent and had no fixed address.
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He said O’Driscoll ran because he had a CBD vape in his possession at the time, and he reacted out of fear, even though he was not sure if the vape was legal or not.
The court heard O’Driscoll had one previous conviction for being intoxicated in public and was pleading guilty to the charge of obstruction.
O’Driscoll said he had been in care most of his life and had been allocated accommodation when he was 18, but it “didn’t work out”.
Judge Joanne Carroll said O’Driscoll had been given chances and had been allocated an aftercare worker, and he should make securing employment a priority.
She asked for a probation report to be prepared and remanded O’Driscoll on continuing bail to appear again on March 23.
This article is funded by the Court Reporting Scheme