Woman heard shouting and screaming from inside Gorey van

Wednesday 29 August 2018

Police were called to Gorey in the early hours of Monday morning after a member of the public reported hearing a woman shouting and screaming from inside a white van parked on the pier, the Magistrate's Court heard yesterday.

The account came during the sentencing of the van's driver, 29-year-old Jamie Evans, who was handed 90 hours and disqualified from driving for resisting arrest and failing to give a breath sample to Police officers attending the scene following reports of the woman's screaming.

The Court heard that when the police arrived and tried to arrest Evans, who was in the van with the woman, he "kicked off", and told the officers to "f*** off."

He then tried to shut the van doors on the officers. They told him if he didn’t obey them they’d spray him with PAVA – an incapacitant spray similar to pepper spray. He continued to resist arrest and was sprayed.

At Police HQ, Evans was asked to give a breath sample to test for alcohol. He refused saying he’d only give a blood sample.

Appearing in the Magistrate’s Court, Evans pleaded guilty to both resisting arrest and failing to give a breath sample without a reasonable excuse.

Pictured: Police were alerted in the early hours of the morning after a woman was heard screaming and shouting from inside a van parked on Gorey Pier. (Google Maps)

The Court was told Evans had been out with a friend. They’d started at the Watersplash and then drove into town. They parked the van at a private space and Evans said his plan had been to return to the van later on and sleep in it.

The friends went to a series of pubs eventually ending up at the Royal Yacht together with a woman Evans had met in a pub early in the evening who’d asked for his telephone number.

Evans said his friend asked for a lift home, and because he was feeling OK he agreed to. Whilst driving through town they were flagged down by the woman they’d seen earlier in the evening and she got in the van as well.

They then drove to Gorey. He parked the van up, had some more to drink and took painkillers. He told the court he had no recollection of the police turning up.

Sentencing Evans, Relief Magistrate David Le Cornu, said "police officers should not have to suffer such situations" – a reference to Evans’ resisting arrest.

He did note, though, that although Evans had refused to give a breath sample, he had offered to give blood. The problem here is that option is only open to those people who can provide a reasonable excuse for not giving a breath test.

He gave Evans 90 hours community service and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.