A MAN WHO threatened to cut a woman’s throat and drink her blood has been sentenced to four years in prison with the last two years suspended.
Arthur Boland (31), Pierce Terrace, Westport, Co Mayo, pleaded guilty at Galway Circuit Criminal Court to making threats to gardaí in March that he would kill a hotel manager.
Det Sgt Tom Molloy said Garda Orla Finan got an emergency call at 1.44pm on March 29th last from a man later identified as Boland, who said he intended to kill the manager of the Salthill Hotel in Galway.
Det Sgt Molloy said Boland hated her after she called gardaí in January 2008 to have him ejected from the hotel. He returned and threw a rock in through the front door. Boland received a five-month prison sentence for that offence at Galway District court on March 10th, 2008, consecutive to a eight-month prison sentence he had received at Ennis District Court in February 2008 for fraud and deception offences.
Following the 999 call, gardaí discovered Boland was the suspect. At 9am on the following Monday, he walked into Salthill Garda station and told Garda Dermot Cummins he was going to take a knife to the woman, slit her throat and drink her blood.
Geri Silke, defending, said Boland had no intention of carrying out the threats. She said his dialling 999 and walking into the Garda station the following day was a “cry for help” as he was drinking heavily on his release and he wanted to go back into custody.
Judge Raymond Groarke said he did not believe that Boland had made these threats so that he would be put back in prison. He said he had to mark the seriousness of the offence by imposing a four-year sentence.
The final two years were suspended on condition Boland not commit any offence for two years on his release, that he come under the supervision of the probation service and stay away from the hotel manager. He was also ordered to stay out of Galway for two years on his release from prison.