Bench warrant issued for man who called gardai 'corrupt' at Ballyshannon crime scene

A bench warrant has been issued for a Letterkenny man with 40 previous convictions who abused gardai when asked to leave a crime scene.

Mark Pope was due to appear before Ballyshannon District Court on Friday.

The court heard that Pope, of Thornberry, Mountain Top, Letterkenny, did not pay a fixed charge penalty notice in connection with an incident on October 9, 2022.

Garda Claire O'Hara told the court that gardai were dealing with a serious incident at a house at East Rock, Ballyshannon in which Pope and others were present.

Superintendent Duffy declared the house a crime scene at 6.40am. Pope and the other occupants were asked to leave.

After going outside, Pope, who was said to be intoxicated at the time, began shouting at gardai: “You're what's wrong with this country”. Pope told the officers present that they were “corrupt”.

Pope was asked several times to desist before being arrested under section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 and conveyed to Ballyshannon Garda Station.

A fixed charge penalty notice was issued, but was not paid.

The court heard that Pope has 40 previous convictions, the last of which dates back to 2015. Of those, three were under the Misuse of Drugs Act with four for criminal damage and four under the Public Order Act.

After being informed that Pope was not present in court, Judge Brendan O'Reilly issued a bench warrant.