Ballymun dad caught with slash hook in car during ‘feud’ spared jail

Peter Stokes’s cousins had already taken the weapon from him when gardaí arrived at the scene and found it in the back of a car. Judge John Brennan gave him a seven-month suspended sentence.

Stokes (26) of St Margaret’s Park, Ballymun, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a weapon on March 25 last year.

Garda Paul Higgins told Dublin District Court it was reported at 9.50am on the day that three men were in a vehicle with “weapons described as hurley sticks”.

Gardaí attended the scene and found two males in the vehicle, with a slash hook on the back seat.

The males said they had taken the hook from the accused, their cousin, as he was in a dispute with another male.

Stokes returned to the scene and made admissions to bringing the slash hook there. He had previous convictions for offences including escaping custody.

Stokes had three young children and another on the way, his solicitor John Quinn said.

The implement he had was normally used for hedge cutting, but he accepted he did not have a good reason for having it on the day.

Judge Brennan said that against the background of a feud, having the weapon could have been a “very serious issue,” but the court heard there had been no further escalation.

Noting that “matters have calmed down”, he suspended the seven-month sentence for 18 months.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​