The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a three-year prison sentence imposed on a man who pleaded guilty to assaulting two gardaí, producing an iron bar capable of causing serious injury and damaging a patrol car.
The court, in a judgment delivered by Ms Justice Kennedy on 2 February 2021, rejected arguments that the sentence should have been backdated to account for time spent in custody before sentencing, or that part of it should have been suspended.
The offences arose from events at the entrance to Spring Lane halting site on 8 February 2019. The judgment says gardaí approached a vehicle with invalid documentation and intended to seize it. The appellant returned while they waited for a tow wagon, intoxicated and aggressive, and entered the driver’s seat. When Garda Conway tried to remove the keys, he punched her several times on the arm, elbow and shoulder. Garda O’Shea was also punched while assisting her.
After leaving, the appellant returned with a four-foot iron bar. The two gardaí took refuge in their patrol car, which he struck repeatedly, damaging its windows, panels and windscreen. He fled when assistance arrived and was arrested on 21 March 2019.
The appellant’s counsel argued that the sentencing judge should have backdated the sentence in light of mitigating factors, time in custody and the prospect of rehabilitation. Counsel also said that some of the sentence should have been suspended to encourage him to address addiction issues. The prosecution argued that the judge had considered the remand period when setting the sentence and was entitled to refuse suspension, noting that previous suspended sentences had not had a beneficial effect. It also submitted that claims about seeking addiction assistance were undocumented.
The sentencing judge imposed concurrent terms of two years for the assault counts and three years each for criminal damage and producing the iron bar, resulting in an overall three-year sentence. The judgment says the judge was aware of the appellant’s time in custody and took it into account when deciding the sentence, rather than by backdating it.
The Court of Appeal said the sentencing judge was entitled to impose the sentence from the sentencing date and found no error in declining to suspend part of it. The court noted the appellant’s 51 previous convictions, including earlier suspended sentences, and dismissed the appeal.