A DONEGAL man who was extradited from Australia where he served a prison sentence for harassing his former partner was sentenced locally this week for criminal damage offences.
Gavin Porter (34), Umrycam, Buncrana, has just served a two-year sentence for stalking and threatening to kill Tash Kramer.
Court proceedings in Australia heard how Porter sent the mother-of-three up to 3,000 text messages with some messages threatening to “cut your throat” and “make your life hell”.
A magistrate in Australia described the case as “one of the worst family violence cases” they had ever heard in a courtroom.
Porter was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment. He appeared before Letterkenny District Court on Monday where he tendered guilty pleas to two charges of criminal damage and two public order charges.
He admitted kicking the wing mirror off a car at St Columba’s Avenue, Buncrana, on April 2, 2018 and urinating at Buncrana Garda Station on the same date.
Porter was brought to court by arrangement having been met off the flight from Australia at Dublin Airport by Gardaí from Buncrana.
Garda Thomas Duggan of Buncrana Garda Station said he arrested Porter at Dublin Airport yesterday and brought him to Donegal where he was held overnight before appearing at Monday’s Letterkenny District Court sitting.
Solicitor for the accused, Mr Patsy Gallagher, said the case could not have been dealt with any quicker, and that his client was offering pleas to all of the charges.
Mr Gallagher said that his client had encountered a “difficulty” in Australia and that he had “paid his price to society”, dealt with the matter and was now back in Ireland to face these charges. He said the offences were committed when his client was intoxicated.
Mr Gallagher said his client’s family had raised a sum of money by way of compensation.
For the damage to the wing mirror, Judge Emile Daly fined Porter €400, and gave him three months to pay. For the Section 2 criminal damage at Buncrana Garda Station, Porter was fined €100.
Judge Daly also directed that the €200 that had been paid into court be produced to the injured party by way of compensation.
She took into consideration two Section 6 public order charges.
