A man who threatened to slit the throats of his former partner and one of her colleagues has been sentenced to five years with the final two suspended.
Paul O'Shea (26) has also been ordered to stay away from both his victims for 20 years.
O'Shea, of Sillogue Avenue in Ballymun, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to threatening to kill Louise Jackson and Stephen Preston on January 2, 2013 at Owensilla, Ballymun.
O'Shea has 48 previous convictions, including sending indecent messages by telephone, assaulting a garda, threats to kill, robbery, theft and burglary. He was addicted to drugs at the time of the offences, the court heard.
The sentence is to run consecutively to a two and a half year sentence he is currently serving for sexually assaulting a female student nurse after he slapped her on the bottom claiming he had taken a cocktail of drugs.
The court had previously heard that O'Shea had been in a relationship with Ms Jackson for six years and they have a child together. She had broken up with him when he told her he was charged with sexual assault.
She had tried to leave O'Shea's house but he told her she wasn't going anywhere and threatened to “punch the head off her.”
Ms Jackson was terrified and tried to leave, but O'Shea threatened to “slash her face” with a piece of glass and later to “slit her throat” with a knife he took from a drawer.
He accompanied her to the shop and when she spotted a break in traffic she ran across the road to Ballymun Garda Station.
O'Shea took Ms Jackson's phone, rang one of her work colleagues, Stephen Preston, and told him he was going to “slit his throat”.
A victim impact statement for Ms Jackson said her depression and anxiety had worsened and she had become more nervous.
Sandra Frayne BL, defending O'Shea, said her client had taken benzodiazepines, methadone and cannabis on the day and had severe anger management issues but that he is now seeing an addiction counsellor and he is co-operating fully with the Probation Services.
“He is sorry for his actions,” said Ms Frayne, adding that he is anxious that he will get to see his child when he is released from prison.
Judge Patricia Ryan ruled that O'Shea stay away from both Ms Jackson and Mr Preston for a period of 20 years.
