[ad_1]
A businessman who caused more than 66,000 € in damages to a hotel while he was naked said that he wished to be a role model for his son after he had put his trial behind him.
Marketing Director Eamon Devlin has damaged four rooms in a hotel in Donegal – and attributed to his actions a badtail of drugs and beverages.
Letterkenny's Court of Appeal learned that the 41-year-old man had destroyed his own room and then had arrived in the lobby of the Ballyliffin Lodge Hotel to tell the staff that his room had been ransacked by "… gypsies ".
His lawyers pleaded not guilty on his behalf, claiming that his consumption of alcohol tablets was at the origin of a case of "involuntary intoxication". He said that he was taking tablets for an ear infection.
During a two-day trial, Devlin announced that he had made a reservation at the hotel with his three-year-old son while he divorced and that he wanted to spend time with her child.
They spent a day playing pitch and putt at the Ballyliffin Golf Club before bathing and eating at the hotel bar.
He took a pint of Carlsberg, an Irish coffee, and brought a bottle of wine to his room. At 11:30 pm, Devlin ordered another bottle of wine for the room.
In the early hours of the morning, around 5 am, Devlin arrived naked at the hotel reception with his son, who was in his pajamas.
He asked the staff to go to his room on the 214, claiming that there were "gypsies" in the room and that he had to get them out.
No one else in the room
The night watchman Seamus Henry went to the room but found nothing that was wrong and that there was no one else in his room.
At around 6:00 am, the night watchman received a phone call from room 215, complaining of screaming in the accused's room for half an hour.
Accompanied by another staff member, Mr. Henry went upstairs and noticed that the corridor was flooded.
They used the master key to enter room 214, but had to force the door because it was damaged. Mr. Henry said that the room was under three inches of water, that the sinks had been removed from the bathroom wall and that there was broken glbad everywhere.
It was said in court that water was then spread in three other rooms and that at one point, the ceiling of one room was almost collapsed.
Hotel manager Colm O'Kane said he had been called home to tell him what had happened. He arrived shortly after.
He said that Devlin asked him, "Did you see them, did you see them? Gypsies? You are doing a great job. "
Devlin, marketing manager of a software company in the north of the country, was arrested and interrogated at the Buncrana Garda station.
He attributed to his behavior a combination of stress, drugs and alcohol for the night and offered to pay compensation for the damages, adding that he was deeply ashamed of what had happened.
He told Gardaí, "I am a big boy. If this phone call had not been made, I would not be here.
He recounted that he remembered entering the bathroom but the room darkened and he could not find a way out and believed that the gypsies were in the room. take his son.
A jury found Mr. Devlin guilty and yesterday at the Letterkenny Court of Appeal, he apologized to the hotel staff and the gardaí.
The court heard that at the time of the incident, Devlin's ex-wife had told her that she was planning to move to the United States with her son and that he was very stressed.
Devlin said that he was trying to regain his strength and that he could pay back € 250 a month to the hotel for damages of more than € 66,000.
"I apologize to the court for what happened," he said. "I am deeply sorry and ashamed. It was completely out of character and it was supposed to be a fun weekend with my son. It was an irrational behavior and it should not have happened.
Judge John Aylmer adjourned the proceedings until Friday for his sentence to be rendered.
Source link
