Teen jailed after screwdriver assault over cigarette request

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

Ross Crea was sentenced to two years in prison, with the final 14 months suspended on strict conditions, after pleading guilty to assault causing harm. The court heard that he was 16 when he stabbed a man in the shoulder with a screwdriver after asking him for a cigarette in Dublin city centre on April 18, 2019.

The victim suffered a puncture wound that did not require inpatient hospital treatment and returned to work the following day. Judge Martin Nolan said the injury was not serious and reduced the custodial term in light of Crea’s youth at the time and the hope for rehabilitation.