Man accused of threatening to kill man 'in name of the Queen' had 'little arsenal of weaponry'

A man alleged to have threatened to kill his landlord's son subsequently handed up what was described as "a mini arsenal" of weapons to gardaí.

Man accused of threatening to kill man 'in name of the Queen' had 'little arsenal of weaponry'

A man alleged to have threatened to kill his landlord's son subsequently handed up what was described as "a mini arsenal" of weapons to gardaí.

Steven Farthing, 67, had denied making threats against David Young on August 22 last year, when Mr Young, 41, claimed Mr Farthing had said: "I will blow your brains out."

Clonakilty District Court heard that the alleged incident occurred at what was then Mr Farthing's rented cottage at Curraghlickey in Drinagh in West Cork.

Mr Young had earlier called out to Mr Farthing's rented cottage twice in relation to Mr Farthing's dogs barking during the previous weekend and his horses being out on the road.

Mr Young told Judge James McNulty that on the third occasion he drove to the cottage in his tractor, at which point Mr Farthing ran out and called him a "thieving c***".

Mr Young said a verbal altercation continued between them and Mr Farthing said he would "slap a bullet" on him and "blow your brains out in the name of her majesty, the Queen".

Mr Young said he knew Mr Farthing had guns in his house, and so he left and called the gardaí.

"I was fearful of my life at the time," the father-of-three said.

Mr Farthing's solicitor, Ray Hennessy, claimed that Mr Farthing had been living in the cottage for around 15 years with no trouble, and that difficulties only began between him and the Youngs when the latter did not sign forms for the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) when Mr Farthing began claiming disability allowance.

Mr Young said Mr Farthing had stopped paying rent and so the family had been trying to get him to vacate the property. The court heard that an eviction order was later granted in the circuit court and later upheld by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

Garda Sean O'Sullivan of Dunmanway Garda Station gave evidence that the day after the alleged threat he spoke with Mr Young and then found Mr Farthing talking to another garda in Dunmanway that afternoon. He said Mr Farthing said he knew why the gardaí wanted to speak with him and that he had said he would shoot Mr Young if he came onto his property. Mr Farthing was arrested and then volunteered to hand over his weapons and ammunition.

The court heard Mr Farthing handed up a pump action rifle, a shotgun, a bolt action rifle, an ammunition belt, 222 shotgun cartridges and 64 Remington bullets.

Later, Mr Farthing made a number of counter-allegations against Mr Young and later claimed Mr Young had thrown a Stanley knife at him, providing the weapon in a bag to gardaí.

Garda Tim Forde said there were "major inconsistencies" in evidence given by Mr Farthing, including a claim that there was video evidence of Mr Young harassing Mr Farthing which was never produced, and that other people who Mr Farthing claimed Mr Young had upset refuted this when contacted.

Garda Forde also queried why the knife was only mentioned in interview and not when Mr Farthing was first cautioned or when he went with gardai to voluntarily hand over his weapons.

In evidence, Mr Farthing, of 18 Bridge St in Skibbereen, said when the dispute arose over the HAP forms he had been advised by Threshold to "sit tight" regarding the rent and that a subsequent offer to the landlords had been rejected.

As for the August 22 incident he said he was responding to Mr Young, claiming he said he would have had no option but to shoot him if Mr Young went through with alleged threats to remove his possessions from the house. He alleged Mr Young had said "I am here to die" and that he had said in response: "I have heard of a man giving his life for King or Queen but never for a house that didn't belong to him."

He said when he ultimately got a lorry to move a load of his possessions, he returned to the cottage to find it barricaded up.

Mr Farthing also told the court he took good care of his animals but this was contested by Garda Forde.

Judge McNulty convicted Mr Farthing of the charge of making a threat to kill or cause serious harm, adding the defendant's evidence was "inconsistent and unsatisfactory". He said claims made by Mr Farthing about his care for animals "detracts from his credibility" in the face of contrary evidence from gardai.

Mr Farthing had two previous convictions in this jurisdiction and 32 in the UK, mainly dating back to the seventies and eighties.

Judge McNulty wondered why Mr Farthing had such a significant quantity of weapons, adding: "It seems like a little arsenal of weaponry".

He sentenced Mr Farthing to 90 days in prison but suspended it for two years on the condition that Mr Farthing enter a peace bond for two years.

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