Rape accused threatened gardai, court hears
A Central Criminal Court jury was told a man accused of raping a Cork woman in her home town threatened gardai with a slash hook when they tried to arrest him at a caravan in Tipperary.
The gardai had to chase him through several fields, losing sight of him for a short period, until they cornered him in a field some distance from the caravan.
Detective Garda Thomas Ryan told Mr Patrick J McCarthy SC, prosecuting that the accused was "in a rage" and said: "I've done it, I'm better off dead".
Det Gda Ryan denied a suggestion by defence counsel, Mr Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, that six armed gardai barged into the accused's caravan and that was why he picked up the slash hook.
The 35-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to one charge of rape and one charge of anal rape against the woman in Cork on September 3, 2000.
Det Gda Ryan told Mr McCarthy (with Mr Sean Gillane BL) he arrived at the accused's caravan with three other gardai on the morning on September 8, 2000.
One garda approached the door of the caravan and Det Gda Ryan heard him say "Put it down".
The accused then emerged with a slash hook in his hand which he swung at the garda.
Det Gda Ryan drew his revolver and told the accused to drop the hook. The accused backed up a lane way and said he had "done it" and was "better off dead".
Det Gda Ryan said he told him it was not all bad and the accused replied he had meant to go to the town in Cork to meet him and settle things.
The accused then jumped over a gate and told the gardai not to follow him or he would kill them.
The gardai then chased him through several fields and were joined by two other gardai near a quarry.
However, they lost sight of the accused when he entered a maize field.
Det Gda Ryan said they caught sight of him again in the afternoon of the same day as he walked along with the slash hook near Fethard on the main Dublin to Cork road.
The accused jumped over a wall into a field but was cornered by gardai and arrested.
The court heard that when he was interviewed by gardai, the accused denied raping the woman in Cork and also told the gardai that his brother should have been put in the identity parade with him as they looked very alike.
Det Gda Ryan denied a suggestion by Mr O'Loughlin that several questions asked by the gardai and several replies given by the accused during the interview were not properly recorded.
He also denied that six armed gardai had broken down the door of the accused's caravan and said he was the only armed garda who arrived at the caravan and he only drew his gun when the accused began swinging the slash hook.
