A Louth man who lives in a 15th Century castle has avoided a jail sentence for a cocaine-fuelled crime spree which included hijacking a vehicle, assaulting a garda and trying to escape from a garda station.
Conor Carville (45), of Darver Castle, Readypenny, Co Louth, pleaded guilty to a series of offences which occurred on February 17th, 2019 including attempted carjacking, the unauthorised taking of a vehicle and burglary at Darver.
Carville, a self-employed electrician, also admitted assault causing harm to a garda sergeant in Dundalk Garda Station on the same date and possession of cocaine.
Darver Castle, which is situated on a 50-acre estate, was bought by Carville’s parents, Aidan and Mary, in 1997 and is operated as an exclusive wedding venue catering for up to 280 guests.
At a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Patrick Quinn accepted Carville had engaged in “out of character conduct” and had managed to turn his life around following treatment.
The judge fined Carville a sum of €200 and applying Section 100 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 said he would only impose an 18-month jail sentence if the accused failed to provide ongoing negative urine tests for illicit substances.
The court previously heard evidence that Carville was covered in mud when he waved down a jeep and tried to pull down the male driver out of his vehicle in an incident which took place at around 9.30am on February 17th, 2019 at Darver.
Carville told the motorist: “You’re the man I’m looking for. You will talk to me now. I’m taking the jeep off you.”
The defendant tried to hold on to the motorist’s arm as he tried to drive away and only let go when another vehicle came along.
A short time later, a nearby resident heard banging outside his house and saw Carville driving off in his van.
The man managed to jump into the passenger seat of his vehicle, while his partner was banging on the side of the van.
Carville subsequently got out of the van and ran away but was discovered later by gardaí lying in bushes covered in mud and scratches all over his arms and face.
The court heard he then tried to escape from garda custody after being brought to Dundalk Garda Station in an incident in which he also threw a cup of water over a garda and punched a sergeant in the ribs.
Evidence was provided to the court that the injured officer was off work for a period with a pain to the shoulder, neck and ribs following the assault.
A doctor who attended Carville in Dundalk Garda Station described finding him “highly agitated and under the influence of an intoxicant.”
A probation report had noted that Carville was suffering from “paranoid psychosis related to cocaine use.”
The court heard he was also assessed as being at a high risk of reoffending.
Judge Quinn had previously adjourned the case to allow for 12 months of regular urine analysis from Carville to demonstrate that he had stayed off all intoxicants.
Garda Rosemary Glynn told the court on Friday that he had not come to garda attention since and he had no criminal convictions at the time of the offending.
The judge listed the case for mention for a date in February 2024 to check that Carville was complying with the conditions of his sentence.
