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Man pursued niece with claw hammer after having nightmare

Summary

In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court hearing, Thomas Lawrence, 62, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to his niece after a nightmare. The incident occurred on 29 August 2020 when Lawrence entered his niece's house, shouted abuse, then chased her to a café, grabbed her by the hair, punched her head and repeatedly struck her against a metal counter. The assault left her with superficial injuries. Lawrence also pleaded guilty to an attempted theft of three wine bottles from Spar in 2014, a case delayed by Covid. He was arrested shortly after the assault. Judge Martin Nolan, noting Lawrence's health problems—pancreatitis, epilepsy, chronic depression, alcoholism—sentenced him to 20 months, suspended in full, rather than imprisonment. No further court actions were described in the article.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Man pursued niece with claw hammer after having nightmare. Charges or matters: one count of assault causing harm to his niece at the same location on August 29, 2020; one count of attempted theft of three bottles of wine from Spar on Dame Street on October 18, 2014. Procedural stage: sentence

When:

• August 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• August 29, 2020 Incident
• October 18, 2014 Incident
• 2024-04-22 Publication

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Sentence Theft Violent Crime

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Read the original CNI report