Brandon Power’s suspended sentence for assault found too lenient

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Brandon Power’s wholly suspended one-year sentence for assaulting Garda Thomas Devereux was found unduly lenient by the Court of Appeal on 22 November 2019.

Power pleaded guilty to the assault, which happened in Bray courthouse on 31 March 2018 while he was being restrained after attempting to flee. Judge Terence O’Sullivan imposed the sentence on 11 April.

The appeal court, presided over by Mr Justice George Birmingham with Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, ordered an up-to-date probation report before resentencing. Mitigation included previous mental health difficulties and evidence from Power’s mother; he remained on bail, with the matter put back to 10 March.