This article is from page 18 of the 2010-02-23 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
A YOUNG man who had taken a concoction of 10 valium tablets and seven cans of beer broke into a 61- year-old man’s home and attacked him, a court heard yesterday.
Dominic Hayes (19), of Inis Ealga, Shannon, and Philip Ryan (20), of R1- neanna View, Shannon, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary at a house in Shannon on December 18, 2008.
Hayes was jailed for three years, while the case of Ryan was adjourned for compensation to be paid.
Garda David Laing told Ennis Cir- cuit Court that when gardai got to the house at around 1.40am, the owner was lying on the bedroom floor, cov- ered in blood. There was a wooden stick and frame of a child’s bike on the ground beside him. He said the bedroom window had been broken with the frame of a child’s bike.
The man told gardai that he saw the two defendants outside his bedroom window. Hayes broke the window with the bike frame and beat the man with a wooden stick and bedside radio. 400 in cash was also taken from the man’s bedroom. Damage, to the tune of almost €4,000, was caused to the victim’s property that night.
The two defendants were identified as suspects and were arrested a short time later in a nearby estate. Gda La- ing said they had to be given a rest pe- riod to sober up from the alcohol and drugs they had consumed that night.
The court heard that Ryan had told Hayes to leave the man alone, as he had a medical condition.
Both men were described as com- ing from dysfunctional families and both have abused drugs and alcohol. Hayes had 18 previous convictions, while Ryan did not have any.
Hayes’ barrister Lorcan Connolly (pictured below) said his client had consumed 10 valium tablets and seven cans of beer that evening. He described his client as a ‘Jekyl and Hyde’ type of character, who changed dramatically while under the influ- ence. He asked for light at the end of the tunnel for his client.
Ryan’s barrister Elaine Houlihan said this incident was very much out of character for her client and said it was not professionally planned. She said he was easily led. ““There was an element of regrettable opportunism to the crime,” she said. Ms Houlihan said her chent could offer €1,300 in com- pensation. His case was adjourned for further money to be paid over.
Referring to Hayes, Judge Carroll Moran said the evidence was he was the most culpable and said the attack was “gratuitous, unprovoked, out of the blue”.