Courts / Dublin / Report

Teen gets detention for attacking street magician and series of other violent crimes

Date
2018-02-21

Stage
Sentence

Court
Waterford. Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Primary locality
Smithfield

County
Dublin

Summary

A 17‑year‑old Dublin teenager pleaded guilty to a series of violent offences, including assaulting street magician Mark Beltran, stabbing Waterford resident Gavin Keoghan, and robbing a 16‑year‑old's phone. He also admitted to assaulting a homeless man, Martin Goth, and participating in violent disorder at Smithfield Square. The court heard that the attacks followed the theft of a stolen amp from Beltran's street performance. The teenager was sentenced to three years' detention by Judge Martin Nolan, who noted his early guilty plea, young age and rehabilitation efforts. The sentence was imposed despite the absence of victim impact statements in the cases involving Goth and Keoghan. The judge highlighted the teenager's lack of further offences since the convictions. The case involved co‑accused Luke Byrne, who received nine and a half years' imprisonment for a separate attack and robberies. The court also considered the teenager's drug use and subsequent counselling.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Teen gets detention for attacking street magician and series of other violent crimes. Charges or matters: assault causing harm to Mr Beltran at O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 on September 9, 2016; assaulting a homeless man, Martin Goth, while he slept in a doorway on O'Connell Street on the same date; robbing a 16-year-old boy's phone at Seapoint Avenue, Monkstown, Co; violent disorder at Smithfield Square, Dublin 7 on November 1, 2016. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

September 9, 2016 Incident
October 17, 2016 Other
October 27, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
November 1, 2016 Hearing Or Sentence
2018-02-21 Publication

Why: Ms Dempsey submitted to Judge Martin Nolan that there was no victim impact report for Mr Goth because he had died in the years since. CNI source report

Case subjects

Unnamed 17-year-old

Convicted Person

Charges: assault causing harm to Mr Beltran at O'Connell Street, Dublin 1 on September 9, 2016; assaulting a homeless man, Martin Goth, while he slept in a doorway on O'Connell Street on the same date; robbing a 16-year-old boy's phone at Seapoint Avenue, Monkstown, Co; violent disorder at Smithfield Square, Dublin 7 on November 1, 2016 (Admitted)

Plea: Guilty

Outcome: Byrne, of Geraldine Street, Phibsboro, Dublin, was jailed for nine and a half years in January for this attack and a spate of nine robberies. He imposed three years detention on the teenager and said the term would have been longer had it not been for his young age.