Sligo woman with 167 previous convictions receives four month jail sentence for assault on shop manager
The Sligo ChampionA 36-year-old woman with 167 previous convictions has received a four-month jail sentence for an assault on a shop manager.
Janice Brady of Maryville Hostel, Finisklin, Sligo was charged with assaulting Thomas Pakenham, at Ballisodare on June 10, 2025.
The defendant appeared via video link and was therefore not affected by the ongoing withdrawal of services by solicitors because of changes to the legal aid scheme.
The court previously heard that Garda Seamus McGowan received a report of a theft from Whiteside’s Supervalu in Ballisodare. Upon arrival, he spoke to the injured party, who told him that he stopped Brady attempting to remove items from the shop.
Mr Pakenham told Garda McGowan that the defendant started screaming at him and told the man she was with, to pull out a blade at him.
He added that he feared for his life and that the man was restrained and a bottle he was holding fell. Brady then hit Mr Pakenham on his right arm.
The court heard that the defendant had 167 previous convictions.
Judge Éiteáin Cunningham gave credit to Brady for entering an early plea. However, she said that it was a serious incident as it was an unprovoked assault.
Noting that Brady had 167 previous convictions, Judge Cunningham sentenced the defendant to four months in prison.
Sergeant McDonagh told Judge Cunningham that Brady committed the offence whilst on bail and that her earliest release date was December 6, 2026.
Judge Cunningham directed that Brady’s four-month jail sentence be served consecutively to her current sentence.
Article funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.