A MAN who threw a fire extinguisher through a glass door at Jersey Airport has been ordered to pay for the damage and fined for disorderly conduct.
Gerard Eamon Maguire (55) caused £1,323 worth of damage by smashing the door at departure gate two when he was denied access to a flight to Luton, the Magistrate’s Court heard this week.
Maguire had been due to take an easyJet flight on the evening of 25 September but when he reached the departure gate he discovered he had left his mobile phone – which contained his boarding pass – at the Airport bar.
Advocate Simon Crowder, prosecuting, told the court that Maguire went back to the bar but was prevented from boarding the plane when he returned to the gate, which, he was told, had closed.
‘A Swissport employee was under the impression that he was drunk, because of his language and the volume of his voice,’ Advocate Crowder said. He also swore and shouted abuse at other Airport staff.
Advocate Chris Baglin, defending, said: ‘When he returned he saw people boarding the plane. It was unbeknownst to him that he would not be allowed to board.
‘On reflection, he knows that it wasn’t a suitable way to act for a man of his years.’
He also pointed out that Maguire had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
The defendant admitted malicious damage and disorderly conduct liable to cause alarm or distress, and was fined £250 and ordered to pay £1,323 compensation for the damage to the window.
The court was told that Maguire had a previous conviction for the same two offences, having smashed a glass door in a pub. Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris also bound him over to be of good behaviour for 12 months.
Mr Harris told Maguire: ‘I can see why you were frustrated, but your response was wholly inappropriate.’
He allowed Maguire to pay for the damage and fine at the rate of £50 per week.
