Copyright newsletter
Details were given to Antrim Magistrates' Court, sitting in Ballymena on Tuesday, which heard Michael Lynch (72), of Main Road in Glynn, admitted causing criminal damage on Sunday August 24 this year. He spray-painted the words 'no parking' on the sides of the car and also 'private' and an arrow symbol on the bonnet. A prosecutor said a couple from Dublin were driving through Glynn and stopped to take a photo of a War Memorial and as they walked back towards their vehicle the defendant was spray-painting the car. The defendant became "verbally aggressive" towards the couple when they confronted him about the spray paint. The car owner told the court she had parked in front of the defendant's home. A defence barrister said the car had been parked for over an hour and was blocking an entrance to the defendant's property. She said the defendant had been diagnosed with cancer and was "irate and annoyed" that his driveway was blocked for a sustained period of time and that he could not enter or exit in the event of a medical issue. District Judge Nigel Broderick said he had "every sympathy for people with that diagnosis but it didn't stop him picking up a spray can and spraying the victim's car. That is not the way to react if somebody does park near your house". The judge said even if the driveway had been blocked it did not give the defendant the right to get a spray can and go out and spray a car. He told the defendant: "I accept you may have had good reason to be annoyed why she parked where she did, however, the way you reacted was totally inappropriate and spray painting her car was not the way to go". He said health difficulties meant the defendant was not fit for Community Service and said Probation was not required. The judge handed down a six months prison term, suspended for two years, and said although there was a dispute about how much it cost to rectify the damage he was ordering the defendant to pay compensation of £1,500.
