Ballina man is jailed for violent attack on two random victims
The defendant pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.
A Ballina man has been jailed after a cocktail of drugs and alcohol saw him launch an unprovoked attack on two strangers.
Gerry Norman, aged 24, of Cluain na Rí, Ballina pleaded guilty at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court to charges of assault causing serious harm and assault causing harm.
The injured parties Dylan Tolan and Patrick Ruttledge, who were unknown to the accused, were attacked in Diamond’s car park, Ballina in the early hours of December 19, 2021.
Gda Clodagh Murphy said she discovered Mr Tolan lying on the ground unconscious. He was the victim of an unprovoked one-punch assault. Mr Ruttledge was tending to his friend when he too was struck by Norman.
Mr Tolan was taken to hospital with serious injuries. He suffered multiple fractures to his skull; decreased hearing in his right ear; bleeding and bruising on the brain; and there was a leak of cerebral spinal fluid on his brain. There was also severe dental damage with fractures to eight teeth. He was quoted up to €6,500 for dental work.
Gda Murphy said the combination of the punch and hitting the ground with force caused the injuries to Mr Tolan. He has lifelong injuries with only 70% hearing capacity in his right ear. He also suffers with ongoing tinnitus.
Mr Ruttledge's dental injuries cost between €1,500 and €2,000 to repair.
Norman was identified by several witnesses and later made full admissions to Gardaí. He has no previous convictions and works in a local abattoir.
Bernard Madden, SC, representing Norman, said his client was induced into a “paranoid or psychotic episode" while under the influence of cocaine and alcohol. Probation and psychological reports revealed misuse of drugs and alcohol but he is since clean of both. Norman is "hugely remorseful" and has attended an anger management course.
Judge Eoin Garavan said the combination of alcohol and cocaine turned Norman, a man of previously good character, into a “vicious, violent individual" and the shocking attack could have ended the life of Mr Tolan.
“This was utter pure white rage. So unprovoked, so violent, so aggressive,” the judge added.
Having previously had €10,000 in compensation in court for his victims, Norman produced another €5,000 when the case came back before the court last week.
Judge Garavan described the incident as an “absolutely tragic event" and said Norman was a “good young man in many ways” but fuelled by cocaine and alcohol he launched an unprovoked attack on two random victims. The judge said he found it difficult to jail Norman, but the seriousness of the assault cannot be minimised. He put the life of another person in danger and the “potentially lethal blow” administered to Mr Tolan “cannot go unpunished”.
“The court must impose a sentence for this level of violence,” Judge Garavan added before handing down a four-year term with the final two years suspended.
