Man with 128 convictions gets lengthy jail term
The defendant pleaded guilty to the offences at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A man threatened an innocent passerby with a slash hook and crashed a stolen jeep into a HSE-owned vehicle that was carrying a person with serious disabilities.
Martin Maughan, aged 38, who was formerly residing in the Church car park, Kiltimagh, but is currently in Castlerea Prison, pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to making threats to kill, production of an article, endangerment and driving without insurance.
On September 4, 2022, a man was out for a walk when Maughan emerged from his caravan in the Church car park in Kiltimagh. He was carrying a slash hook and threatened to cut the innocent man’s head off.
Five days later, Gardaí found the slash hook on top of Maughan’s caravan but he had left the area. He was arrested in Sligo town after his admission to the local hospital following a road traffic collision.
On October 19, 2022, Gardaí in Charlestown observed Maughan driving a Mitsubishi Shogun jeep on the wrong side of the road at St Christopher’s Close. He ignored the flashing blue lights on the Garda vehicle and continued at speed towards the Ballymote Road.
The car was on three wheels as one of the tyres was deflated. Gardaí followed the jeep but lost sight of it before it collided with a HSE vehicle at Tunroe, Carracastle.
Maughan’s jeep struck the other car and continued driving. The jeep crashed two miles further up the road and Maughan was arrested. Two HSE workers and a person with serious disability issues were in the HSE vehicle when it was struck.
Maughan told Gardaí he had little memory of the incident. The jeep was stolen in Enniskillen on October 18. Maughan claimed he purchased the vehicle in Ballaghaderreen for €8,000.
The defendant has 128 previous convictions and is serving a lifetime driving disqualification.
Senior counsel Bernard Madden told the court that Maughan had suffered a serious assault as a boy which had a “lasting impact on his life", resulting in a long history of alcohol abuse, drug taking, and depression.
Judge Eoin Garavan said it is sometimes “very hard to know what to believe” when it comes to Maughan. He was “utterly oblivious” to the safety of others while driving the jeep and could have killed someone.
The court heard Maughan has been in custody since July 2023 and has received 52 notices for breaches of discipline.
Imposing a five-year jail term, Judge Garavan remarked: “This man cannot receive any more chances."
The sentence was backdated to reflect time spent in custody.
