A man who was handcuffed and restrained by Gardaí after "over reacting" when his dog got into a fight in Skibbereen has been jailed for a year.
The man appeared at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday for sentencing.
The incident unfolded when 45 year old Marius Karanauskas of Upper Bridge Street, Skibbereen was sitting outside a cafe in the town on the 29th of March last with his dog.
The small dog was on an extendable lead and was involved in a fight with two Labrador dogs.
Garda Jonathan O'Donovan said a ten inch hunting knife had fallen from the pocket of the accused but that he had not produced it in a threatening way towards anyone present.
The court heard that two witnesses saw Karanauskas hand the knife to another man who put it in his trousers and walked to a nearby lane way.
Garda O'Donovan said Karanauskas was highly intoxicated and had tried to free himself from the handcuffs.
The court was told that he had also tried to kick out at Gardaí with his legs and verbally abused them.
While in custody, Gardaí also discovered he is the subject of a European Arrest Warrant for an outstanding portion of a prison sentence in Belgium which related to a fraud case.
Karanauskas pleaded guilty to a charge of obstructing Gardaí, engaging in threatening behaviour and to possession of a knife. The prosecution did not proceed with charges of the accused man allegedly threatening to kill the dog owner and another woman.
Judge Dara Hayes jailed him for 18 months and suspended the final six months. He also backdated the sentence to March 30th when the accused first entered custody in relation to the case.
