The cell door crashes closed an all too familiar sound for Ciaran, it's the sound of bed time he was thinking to himself as he gym mat they call a bed, the officer who locked him in the cell returns with two blankets and tells him to get some sleep. Ciaran still fuelled by his thought and emotions, as well as the adrenaline from the police chase and raid on his mother's house but he still has no problem with failing asleep.
Waking up the following morning to reality, Ciaran always had knowledge and understanding of his behaviour but just didn't care, he was controlled by his thoughts and emotions but now he has calmed down slightly. As the day goes on Ciaran is asking for help with his mental health and persistently begs the officers in charge of his care for his medication, though the benefits of the anti-psychotic medication take days, weeks to take full effect, when Ciaran takes one for the first time again after taking himself, he finds that it provides him with a sense of security and that takes pressure of allowing Ciaran a little more control.
The custody officer requests a mental health nurse to attend and asses Ciaran, she advises the officers that the issue of medication will have no immediate benefits due to the deterioration and the length of time he has gone without, but at the same time states he was competent to be questioned and face charges.
The smell of cannabis was over-powering and the female officer who was observing the interview seemed to be struggling with the smell, Ciaran was himself but for different reasons. The officer was questioning him about the robbery and when he lifts the evidence back it was only the three envelopes that contained the cash and the cannabis they seize, he lifted the bag in such a way that they joint he was in the process of rolling was clearly visible, it just needs to be tucked, licked and rolled. Ciaran held it together, he was struggling but he didn't want the officers to see.
The interview doesn't take long, his replies had been "no comment" and they had caught him red handed, Ciaran now back in his cell and his mental health starts to deteriorate and now Ciaran could do nothing but pace the cell, anger building and building as well as the thoughts of uncertainty. Ciaran falls asleep that night only to be woken in the middle of the night so the custody sergeant could charge him with two counts of theft from an employer, escaping lawful custody and possession of a class B substance, the officer went on to authorise an extension on his detention so that he could be brought in front of a magistrate in a hope to remand him in prison.
Ciaran welcomes the thirty-minute drive to Stains magistrate's court not bothered by the fact his confined in a four-foot by four-foot box, he is just happy to breath fresh air and see something other than the walls of a cell. The journey seemed a lot quicker than he expected and walking in to the custody suite it was clear to the custody officer that Ciaran was in distress.
During the morning the officers had been very supportive and considerate of Ciaran's mental state with regular check-ins and as many coffees as he would like, you could see in their actions and hear in their voices, they felt for him and even went as far as to say he should not have been there.
Now with lunch fast approaching and it was then Ciaran spoke to a solicitor, he was represented by one in the police station but they refused to continue the case. Once Ciaran arrived at the court, he asked to assigned a duty solicitor and the woman that attended was very knowledgeable, she was considerate of his current mental state but did not miss lead him in any way, she did not hide the fact he is likely to be in a prison cell by the end of the day, she had even asked if he wanted to make a bail application or if he wanted to start his sentence then.
Lunchtime had passed and it wasn't long after the court rooms recommenced that he was brought in to the court room, once Ciaran confirmed his personal details his solicitor stood and on behalf of Ciaran pleads guilty to one count of theft and possession, in respect of one count of theft and escaping lawful custody, Ciaran pleads not guilty and the matter is committed to crown court for trial.
It is now time for his solicitor to make a bail application on his behalf and after a compelling statement including the intension for a psychiatric assessment and an opposing argument from the prosecution, Ciaran has an extensive history of both breaching bail conditions and failing to attend, the prosecution argues a high risk due to the nature of the offence and the plane ticket book to fly to Barcelona. The three magistrate's leave to deliberate and after ten minutes they return to grant Ciaran bail much to his surprise as well as everyone else, but when you look at Ciaran's appearance in the dock, I don't know who would feel sorry for him. The only thought he has is he doesn't want to go back, back where he lost his brother and he isn't sure he can live with that thought while locked in that environment.
Ciaran is guided down to the custody suite to collect his property and then up to courts waiting area so that he could speak to his solicitor, his solicitor doesn't keep him long and once they completed the legal aid forms Ciaran leaves, to find a drink to take his medication, he knows if he doesn't get control he is in serious trouble.
Ciaran has a crown court hearing weeks later so they can book a trial date and when Ciaran attended, he was informed that his solicitor will not be attending, that there was a problem with his legal aid application and it will need to be redone. The hearing was quick and Ciaran was told to contact his solicitor and sort out representation, they trial date is a month away so he has much time.
Ciaran didn't waste any time making another legal aid application, but when he attended his trial date, he was again informed his solicitor will not be attending and Ciaran is now losing his patience, he knows that he can now no longer prepare a defence and now has to damage control.
The judge opens the hearing to be informed by the prosecution of the failed attendance of Ciaran's solicitor, knowing now he has no chance of building defence Ciaran tries to damage control pleading guilty to the escape charge, the second count of theft had been dropped and not that Ciaran has pled guilty to escaping means the courts can move on to sentencing. The judge residing granted Ciaran bail again, she informs him this will be the last time he is granted bail and she is only extending this curtesy because he had just pled guilty to a charge without seeking legal advice first, it is also a legal requirement that all detainees under consideration for a custodial sentenced by represented at their sentencing hearing.
Once again Ciaran scrambles to sort legal aid and once again, but when he attended his sentencing hearing his solicitor fails to attend again. Ciaran books in with the usher and it was long before his hearing starts, the judge asks where his solicitor is but Ciaran could not explain himself and the judge tells him they will attempt to find a solicitor with the time free to represent him after ten minutes the usher returns with news that he has found someone and then the solicitor follows in not long after.
The judge officially authorises the representation and provides them with thirty minutes so the solicitor can get the facts of the case, this is his first introduction to the case and even Ciaran himself, during the conversation the solicitor tried to gain as much knowledge as possible but limited by time and the need for more information as he asks more questions, just like that Ciaran is stood back in the dock and the court session starts.
Ciaran blood boils as the prosecution reads out the charge and the circumstances of the charge, it was lies manipulated to make Ciaran look as bad as possible, lies like Ciaran being the only manager of the complex or he was the only person with access to the safe, though Ciaran was the only manager contracted to the site, there was two managers working full time at his site and they had access to the safe, those two, the two admin and payroll staff, as well as the man that owns the adult gaming machines that the owner of the family entertainment rents from and staff members from other sites all had access to the safe.
Ciaran tries to expose the truth but nobody cares, they have him caught red handed and on the charges, for the possession charge he received a zero-day custodial sentence, for the charge of theft from employer he receives a three-month sentence and for the charge of escaping lawful custody Ciaran receives a six-month sentence. The judge rules that both sentences are to run consecutively so he would serve four and a half months of a nine-month sentence.