Woman spat at gardai in Laois

A woman who admitted assaulting two gardai by spitting in their faces has been fined €300. 

Emilia Danhelova, 25, of 25C Market Square, Portlaoise was arrested for being drunk and disorderly at Lower Main Street, Portlaoise on April 16 last. 

Sgt JJ Kirby said at 12.55am on that date gardai approached the woman who was “highly intoxicated” and “roaring and shouting” in the street. He said she had no previous convictions. 

Sgt Daly told the court that the woman was placed in a patrol car where she spat in the face of two gardai. 

Solicitor Philip Meagher said his client was a Slovakian national who has resided in Ireland for a number of months. He said she is in receipt of social welfare and doesn’t normally go out. 

However, he said, “it was her boyfriend’s birthday and the two of them had gone out.”

“They were removed from a premises and at that stage they came to the attention of the guards,” he explained. 

He said his client “took umbrage at the fact that she wasn’t getting back into the premises to get her coat.”

When she was in the garda car she wanted to get her phone from her bag to ring her boyfriend but gardai wouldn’t allow her, said Mr Meagher. “She then acted out and she spat,” he said.  “She is extremely ashamed,” he added. Mr Meagher said his client had written a letter of apology to the gardai. 

Sgt Daly told the sitting of Portlaoise District Court that “she was very apologetic when I took a statement later.” 

“She is lucky she entered a plea at an early stage particularly with what happened in the garda car,” Judge Andrew Cody said. 

He fined the woman €300 on the Section 2 assault charge against Garda Ronan Fitzsimons and he took the second Section 2 assault charge and the public order charges into consideration. 

Judge Cody ordered that her letter of apology be handed over to the gardai.