A man who twice fired a shotgun at his partner’s car following an argument has been jailed for three years.
Joseph Smith (36), of Waterville Terrace, Blanchardstown, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances on April 22nd, 2019.
Detective Garda Shane McCartan told the court gardaí received reports of a firearm being discharged at Whitechapel Road, Blanchardstown.
On arrival, they found the accused man’s partner in a “distressed” state.
Det Gda McCartan said Smith had travelled from his home to his partner’s mother’s house on Whitechapel Road, where she had been staying following an argument between the two.
The court heard he began shouting at her outside the house and when a physical fight ensued, she fell to the ground while holding her child.
Smith then took a shotgun from his car and fired twice at her Ford Focus, smashing the car’s windows.
Smith was later arrested.
The court heard Smith and his partner were back together one month after the shooting incident and that they have three children together.
Letters of support for Smith, written by his partner and her mother, were furnished to the court. Both were present at the hearing.
Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Smith to three years imprisonment.