Man allegedly wields chainsaw on street before smearing excrement on cell walls
A man was reported to be "wielding" a running chainsaw as a weapon on a Dublin street, triggering multiple 999 calls, a court has heard. Father-of-two Jason Gumble, 31, of Drumalee Avenue, Dublin 7, was arrested following an alleged incident around 2pm on Friday - and allegedly "smeared" his excrement on two Garda cell walls. Bail was denied. He was charged with the production of a chainsaw as a weapon, unlawful possession of a knife, cocaine possession, possessing drugs for supply, and criminal damage. Mr Gumble faced strenuous bail objections when he appeared before Judge Paula Murphy at Dublin District Court today. Garda Eoin Begley alleged that several 999 calls were received about a man near Old Cabra Road on the city's north side. It was claimed the reports mentioned "a chainsaw being operated, and in use, but not for its designated purpose". A member of the public maintained she had seen Gumble wielding the running chainsaw. It was claimed that he met with several other males at Old Cabra Road and ran when gardaí arrived. Garda Begley stated that Gumble ran away while carrying a heavy canvas bag, which he later discarded. It was recovered, however, and an "extremely hot" chainsaw was inside, and "it had been still running until that point". The accused was apprehended after a short chase on foot. He was searched and allegedly had prescription tablets. He was arrested and taken to Mountjoy station. During the custody process, he was "observed attempting to conceal items on his person". He was searched in a cell and allegedly concealed drugs. The bail hearing was told he subsequently recovered them and attempted to consume them, and became aggressive toward gardai as a quantity of cocaine was retrieved from him. It was claimed the accused defecated in the cell, and "smeared some on the cell". Garda Begley said he was offered clean clothing and moved to another cell where he deliberately repeated the same act. In court, Mr Gumble branded the allegations as lies, said there was no need to object to his bail, and claimed he was being harassed and did nothing wrong. Mr Gumble, who received a warning from the judge about repeated interruptions, said his head was "wrecked". Defence counsel Kevin McCrave submitted that this was not the hearing of the underlying case but a bail application, and his client had the presumption of innocence. He stressed that there was no independent witness in court, and the officer had not seen the accused "wielding" the chainsaw. Counsel was instructed that another person might have also been there with a chainsaw. However, the officer thought that was unlikely and told the court that video evidence had been supplied to gardai. The footage was not played. Mr Gumble, accompanied to court by his partner, pleaded to be freed on bail to reside at his current address with family. Counsel asserted that his client would obey a curfew. However, the judge refused Mr Gumble's application. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
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