Athy resident gets three years for 'savage' stabbing
Photo for illustrative purposes only
A labourer who stormed a man's house and stabbed him repeatedly in a "savage attack" sparked by a littering incident has been jailed for three years.
Ryan Carroll (29) - who had been living in Athy most recently - and two other men came to the home of the victim after he and Carroll had an initial altercation after Carroll littered on the man's road, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday (14 November).
The men screamed, "chop his hand off" during the attack as they grabbed the victim's arm and slashed at him, the court heard.
The pair were unknown to each other prior to the offence, which occurred at the victim's home in Ballyfermot on August 9, 2022.
Carroll, originally of Cherry Orchard Drive, Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm, criminal damage and trespass while armed with a weapon at Elmdale Crescent, Ballyfermot.
He has 37 previous convictions and was on bail at the time for a previous offence.
Garda Daniel Matthewson told Patrick Jackson BL, prosecuting, that on the day in question, the victim, a man in his 50s, had painted his front garden pillars and had just tidied up some litter on the street when Carroll and his partner arrived in their car and threw some rubbish out their window.
The man threw the litter back at them, telling them he had just cleaned the area before Carroll got out of his car, and an altercation ensued. The man punched Carroll, and both men fought each other before Carroll got back in his car and was driven away by his partner.
A short while later, he returned to the scene with two other men. Carroll was armed with a long blade described in court as a "saw or blade-type weapon". The men broke through the front door and grabbed the man's arm, shouting, "chop his hand off".
The victim later told gardaí that the men were grabbing his arm and chopping at it as he tried to escape through the door. He suffered severe lacerations to his chest back, arm and head. He sustained a serious wound to his hand, with three fingers cut down to the tendons requiring surgery.
The attack ended when a neighbour called gardaí, and the attackers fled the area. Carroll was identified by gardaí from CCTV footage of the incident, which was played in court.
In a victim impact statement, which was read out by counsel, the man said the fear he felt that day was "indescribable".
It was like something from a horror movie," he said, adding he could not get over the fact that the men were intentionally inflicting pain on him.
He said his physical and mental health have deteriorated, that he lives in constant fear and suffers flashbacks.
He outlined how the attack has also affected his immediate family members.
"I will live with the consequences for many years to come," he said.
Cathal O Braonain BL, defending, said that while Carroll has a criminal history, he does not have a history of violence. He said the incident was not planned and that Carroll "saw red and over-reacted on an absolutely monumental scale". He said his client is remorseful, and a letter of apology was handed into the court.
Carroll has a good work history as a labourer and has since moved with his partner to Kildare, to remove himself from his former acquaintances, the court heard. The birth of his first child last year has had a positive effect on him, the defence counsel submitted. He had €5000 in court as compensation for his victim.
Sentencing Carroll, Judge Sinead McMullen said it was a "savage attack" on a man in his own home in broad daylight. She described it as "outrageous and flagrant criminal activity – using weapons in broad daylight, running into someone's house".
The judge took into account mitigating factors, including Carroll's early guilty pleas, his remorse and the fact that it was not premeditated.
She accepted there was some provocation, Carroll's reaction to the initial altercation was "grossly disproportionate".
She accepted his letter of remorse as genuine and well thought-out, and handed down a sentence of three years to date from 14 November.
