A Finnish man, who is wanted by UK authorities in connection with an assault, broke into a Dublin pensioner’s home looking for a “short cut” back to the city centre, a court has heard.
Carl Innos (30), who has an address in Clongriffin, Dublin, appeared before Dublin Circuit Criminal Court this afternoon, having pleaded guilty to one count of breaching Section 13 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order Act) 1994.
Innos, who is from Finland, dodged a court appearance at Liverpool Magistrates Court on the 14th of September 2020 in relation to the assault of an emergency worker, according to the Hertfordshire Mercury.
Judge Orla Crowe heard that on the 19th of August 2024, pensioner Patrick Callen was home alone in the kitchen of his Portmarnock home when he heard strange noises at 7:20 pm.
Mr Callan said that he found a man unknown to him who was standing in his conservatory “wet”, who then asked him to open the door to allow him to leave through it.
Prosecuting counsel Justin McQuade BL told the court that there was no aggression during the incident and that nothing was taken from the property.
He said that a neighbour of the injured party had noticed a man climbing through a small window and made a video recording of the scene.
When Mr Callan saw the man who was “standing like a statue”, he locked the door to the conservatory, went to a neighbour’s home and called 999.
Gardaí located the accused nearby, and he was taken to Coolock Garda station, where he said he had consumed a bottle of wine on the beach earlier that day and had entered the home looking for a shortcut back to Dublin City Centre.
The court heard that Innos had walked through Malahide Golf Course and had entered a stream during his search for a shortcut, and had eventually come to the injured party’s house after ending up in a cul-de-sac.
Innos’ defending counsel argued that her client had acted “very foolishly and clumsily” and had told Gardaí that he wanted to “get away from the landscape and the golf course” on his journey back to town.
He has shown remorse, and it “wasn’t his plan to scare anyone”, she argued, adding that he has led a “blameless existence in Ireland since he came here” and was not functioning under “his full compos mentis” at the time.
Innos has one previous conviction for failure to appear before the courts.
The injured party described in his victim impact statement how he no longer “takes for granted” that his home is a “sanctuary” and still feels a “lingering sense of deep unease”.
He said he no longer feels comfortable spending long periods in his garden since finding the stranger in his home.
Judge Crowe said that the injured party had had his “family home was violated”, causing him “substantial harm”.
“Everyone’s home is their place of sanctuary,” she said, adding that this had been “taken” from Mr Callen.
“It’s very hard to undo that damage, ” she said.
The court praised Mr. Callen for his “presence of mind” in locking the door and leaving the scene.
Judge Crowe noted that the accused had offered an “unreserved apology” which “may or may not be of comfort to the injured party”.
The court set a headling sentence of six months before reducing this to three months in prison, which was suspended in full on condition that the accused enter into a cashless bond and be of good behaviour for the period of a year.