‘Pattern of alcohol abuse’ by Lurgan man

Martin Kerr, Garland Crescent, Lurgan, had admitted charges of resisting a constable and disorderly behaviour in William Street on August 24 last year.

He was sentenced to a total of 120 hours community service.

The court heard that at 2.20am police received a report of a male person acting aggressively towards an ambulance crew.

They saw Kerr punch a bus stop sign and then a metal frame at the level crossing.

He told police to ‘f—k off’ and continued to act in an aggressive manner.

Kerr then swore in a loud voice and was so aggressive it took six police officers to restrain him.

When he was placed in the back of a police vehicle he immediately calmed down and apologised for his
behaviour.

A solicitor for the defendant said it had been a difficult number of years for Kerr who had fallen into a pattern of alcohol abuse and had been diagnosed with the early signs of liver
damage.

A stomach complaint which led him to miss an earlier court appearance was a consequence of that, explained the solicitor.

He added that Kerr’s relationship with his mother had become fraught and he had been asked to leave the
home.

He was now looking for hostels outside the Lurgan area.

The solicitor said Kerr accepted that leaving the Lurgan area would be best for him as he was trying to wean himself off alcohol.

District Judge, Mr Mervyn Bates, said the defendant was accumulating quite a record and had a suspended sentence hanging over him.