A Lithuanian man caught moving a firearm and ammunition has been jailed for 39 months.
Juozaponis Sarunas (23) told gardai he was moving the items as he owed money after falling in with a “bad crowd.”
Sarunas aka Tomas Banaitis, of Warrenstown Garth, Blanchardstown, pleaded guilty to possession of a semi automatic pistol and ammunition in suspicious circumstances and having a fake Lithuanian driving licence at Grange Road, Clonsilla on September 13, 2013.
The driving licence was in the name of “Tomas Banaitis” and a Lithuanian ID card found which proved to be authentic bore the name “Juozaponis Sarunas” which gardai believe is his real identity.
A check through Interpol revealed no previous convictions and he had not come to garda attention.
Judge Martin Nolan noted Sarunas had not given gardai any explanation as to why he was in possession of the weapon but accepted he was moving the goods for a third party. He said Sarunas must have known it was going to be used in some illicit way in the future.
He imposed a three and a quarter year sentence taking into account the mitigating circumstances and the fact that Sarunas was a foreign national.
Garda Andrew Reynolds told Lorcan Staines BL, prosecuting, that while on mobile patrol he looked through a gap in a hedge and observed Sarunas digging on waste ground.
When Sarunas saw gardai he took flight and discarded a bag along with a smaller object. These were retrieved after gardai caught him nearby. A pistol and two magazines of ammunition were found in the bag and the driving licence in the name of Banaitis was also recovered.
Gda Reynolds said they knew little about Sarunas but believed he had been in the country about seven months.
Padraig Dwyer SC, defending, said that Sarunas had fallen into bad company and was moving on items because he owed €1,000. He had borrowed the money for living expenses and did not have a drug addiction.
He said Sarunas had expressed remorse and used his time in custody well. He submitted Sarunas had been “used” and his involvement was limited.
