A Lithuanian man living in Longford has been sentenced to 15 months in prison over a firearms charge, with the sentence to be fulfilled with time he's already served in custody.
Vytautas Siaulys of 43 Auburn Park, Edgeworthstown pleaded guilty to the charge at Longford Circuit Criminal Court earlier this month.
Following a complaint made against the defendant to An Garda Síochána on the 23rd of February 2021, local Gardaí carried out a search of his home under warrant in conjunction with the regional support unit.
In the course of the search, a black stun gun was discovered in a television unit, which Mr Siaulys freely admitted ownership of.
The device is considered a firearm under the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act, 1990.
According to the defence, the device was sourced for free from the website Wish.com, with the defendant not providing a valid reason for it's acquisition.
The Lithuanian man moved to Ireland in 2017 and has worked in full time employment without coming to the attention of the Gardaí since his arrival.
However, the 44 year has a history of convictions in his native county including murder and assault over 20 years ago.
Following his initial arraignment in February 2021, the accused spent the last year in custody as he was unable to fulfill bail conditions offered by the court.
Sentencing the man today, Judge Francis Comerford said it would not be appropriate to consider his crimes from two decades ago as index offences, while taking into account further violent convictions from 2015.
Describing the weapon, the judge said while it is designed to hurt and incapacitate, it is not likely to be lethal.
Referring to his lack of previous convictions in Ireland, his work history and his time in custody over the last year, Judge Comerford sentenced him to 15 months in jail with that period fulfilled with time already served, allowing him to be released.
