Man who battered pizza employee with iron bar jailed for five years

A Letterkenny man who carried out a sequence of savage assaults on harmless victims together with beating a pizza chef nearly unconscious with an iron bar has been jailed for greater than 5 years.

John McGinley, aged 19, admitted finishing up the assaults which left his victims with severe bodily and psychological scars for the remainder of their lives.

The assaults occurred whereas McGinley was below the affect of drink and medicines.

Certainly one of his victims suffered life-lasting facial accidents whereas one other man was struck ten occasions with an iron bar concerning the head.

The accused appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court docket the place Decide John Aylmer advised him he was “totally fortuitous” that considered one of his victims didn’t die from his accidents.

That sufferer was Shidalan Rahaman, a pizza chef who was attacked and struck with a bar ten occasions by McGinley as he acquired out of his automobile on the Ard Lonan property at Lengthy Lane in Letterkenny on March thirteenth final 12 months.

Mr Rahaman, who bravely confronted his attacker in courtroom, fell to the bottom and was bleeding closely after the vicious assault however no one responded to his requires assist.

There was snow on the bottom and he thought he was going to die from his accidents and the chilly.

McGinley has pleaded responsible to 2 different vicious assaults in addition to inflicting €7,500 price of harm to a lorry parked up in Letterkenny.

In one of many different assaults on a younger man, McGinley struck the sufferer so exhausting that the person needed to have his eyelid rebuilt and was fortunate to not have misplaced his eyesight.

Detective Garda Bobby Carey gave proof of an assault at Hazelbrook Crescent in Letterkenny at 4.45am on August twenty fourth, 2021.

Gardai arrived after experiences of males breaking plenty of home windows in the home.

There was a person current and he was bleeding who mentioned he has been attacked by John McGinley and a few accomplices.

The home had been broken downstairs and the attackers had left by taxi whereas it was additionally claimed that McGinley had produced a shovel throughout the incident.

CCTV was gathered nevertheless it was fairly darkish and the victims declined to make statements.

McGinley, with an deal with at Glenard Park, Letterkenny, additionally pleaded responsible to felony injury on November 1st, 2019 at a building web site at Lengthy Lane, Letterkenny.

A Scania lorry was set upon and critically broken with a wing mirror damaged, passenger window smashed, headlights and tail-lights smashed, a radio pulled out, windscreen wipers pulled off and an indicator arm pulled off the steering wheel.

The overall injury got here to €7,500.

Blood was discovered within the cabin of the car and when DNA samples had been taken it matched with samples from John McGinley.

Detective Garda Derek Connaughton then outlined then particulars of the horrific assault on harmless pizza chef Shidalan Rahaman.

He advised how Mr Rahaman had completed work and was getting out of his Toyota Yaris automobile at Ard Lonan when he seen a person strolling round his boundary wall who started to run at him.

The person had a one foot lengthy stable ‘rod’ in his hand and he hit the rod towards his left hand demanding the important thing to Mr Rahaman’s automobile.

He then touched the sufferer’s trousers trying to find the automobile key earlier than continuing to strike him with the bar.

Mr Rahaman fell to the bottom saying the person was too sturdy for him saying he thinks he was struck as many as ten occasions.

The attacker finally acquired the important thing and took Mr Rahaman’s automobile.

In his terrifying sufferer impression assertion, the sufferer advised how he thought at occasions that he might die if he misplaced consciousness as he was bleeding closely because it was very chilly and there was snow on the bottom.

He did handle to get to Letterkenny College Hospital and acquired 16 stitches for wounds to his head and nonetheless has some scaring kind the assault.

He was out of labor for 3 months however nonetheless suffers kind extreme ache and is unable to work as quick as he might earlier than due to accidents to his fingers he acquired whereas attempting to guard himself from the blows of the bar.

He has moved from the Lengthy Lane regardless of having fun with residing there and ignoring claims from others that it was a tough space.

He nonetheless can not sleep at evening and worries that he won’t ever return to full well being.

Detective Connaughton mentioned in a follow-up investigation the sufferer’s automobile was discovered crashed and deserted at Kirkstown.

DNA was taken from the chassis of the automobile which matched John McGinley whereas the sufferer’s blood was additionally discovered on McGinley’s jacket.

A heavy rusted metal pin or bar was discovered within the automobile whereas CCTV confirmed McGinley’s actions in the direction of the sufferer’s home at Ard Lonan.

The accused was arrested on April twenty second and interviewed 3 times at Letterkenny Garda station however mentioned he couldn’t keep in mind what had occurred.

He mentioned he had heard of the incident on the information and was proven CCTV footage and mentioned that if it was him that he wished to apologise.

Detective Carey gave proof of one other assault carried out by McGinley.

It occurred on June twenty sixth, 2021 when Christopher Gibson claimed he was attacked at a home at Glenard Park.

Proof was provided that McGinley accused Mr Gibson of “going with” his sister and accusing him of being too outdated for her earlier than he all of a sudden struck him with a bottle.

Dazed and confused, the sufferer tried to go away the home when he was attacked by one other man with a wheel brace at the back of the top.

He was taken to Letterkenny College Hospital after which transferred to Sligo College Hospital for specialist remedy on his eyes.

He acquired 9 stitches and though his eyesight was saved, his eyelid needed to be rebuilt and nonetheless hangs down a little bit, the courtroom was advised.

Mr Gibson knew the courtroom case was on however declined to make a sufferer impression assertion.

Requested how he was at the moment, Mr Gibson mentioned he was not in a superb place mentally however is glad the case is coming to a decision and that he doe snot have to present proof.

The courtroom heard that McGinley has 22 earlier convictions for a variety of incidents together with assault, housebreaking, felony injury, possession of a knife, site visitors issues and theft.

His barrister Mr Colm Smyth, directed by solicitor Rory O’Brien, produced a letter of apology from McGinley to his victims.

Within the letter he mentioned he now has a accomplice and is the daddy of an eight month outdated child and has realized his lesson.

Mr Smyth mentioned his shopper had left college at 13 and commenced smoking hashish and medicines which become a every day habit.

Nevertheless, he mentioned that Mr McGinley mentioned in lots of ways in which his arrest for the assault on Mr Rahaman saved his life in some ways as jail gave him the prospect to stop his drug and alcohol habit.

Mr Smyth admitted the assault and accidents to his victims “had been fairly horrific on any degree” and that McGinley accepts no matter penalties.

He additionally added that his shopper suffers from epilepsy and ADHD.

Within the chilly gentle of day he’s now critically ashamed of his actions and he’s now attempting to take care of his anger administration, he added.

He pleaded with Decide John Aylmer to be as lenient as he probably might stating that McGinley’s rehab has began and that he has sought counselling.

The accused has been in custody since April final 12 months.

Passing sentence Decide John Aylmer handled every case individually.

Noting McGinley was a minor on the time, he sentenced McGinley to 6 months in jail for the felony injury to the truck.

Decide Aylmer mentioned that it was totally fortuitous {that a} extra severe harm was not triggered to the best eye of sufferer Christopher Gibson involving the lack of sight.

Earlier than mitigating circumstances had been taken under consideration, he felt the offence was on the higher finish of the size for such offending behaviour meriting a sentence of 5 years.

The third set of information associated to the theft of two keys and felony injury to a window of Janet Hoy on the twenty fourth August, 2021. The courtroom remarked the offences seemed to be peripheral to calls for being made for cash on the property.

However Decide Aylmer added that by far probably the most severe offence was the assault and theft of Mr Rahaman’s automobile.

The courtroom famous an aggravating characteristic of those was the actual fact the accused was on bail on the time.

This concerned a really important diploma of violence to Mr. Rahman who was crushed concerning the head with a heavy rusty metal pin, a particularly harmful weapon and it was totally fortuitous that the accidents to the sufferer weren’t much more severe and even deadly, added the Decide.

Bearing in mind that he was a younger man within the grip of significant drug drawback and for whom there was a hope of rehabilitation and his early responsible plea he sentenced McGinley, Decide Aylmer lowered the sentence of assault to Mr. Gibson to at least one 3 years and 4 months imprisonment.

He additional sentenced McGinley in relation to the theft of keys and felony injury on the twenty fourth August, 2021 to 6 months’ imprisonment which was consecutive to the three years and 4 months above.

Lastly, in relation to the offences towards Mr. Rahman, McGinley was sentenced to five years imprisonment for the illegal seizure of the car and three years and 4 months imprisonment for assault inflicting hurt. This sentence was additionally to run consecutively to the assault on Mr. Gibson and the courtroom took the view it might be an injustice if the sentences had been to run concurrent to one another.

Nevertheless, taking into account the totality precept and the clear want for supervised rehabilitation and the younger age of the accused, he suspended the ultimate 3 years of the 5 12 months sentence and the ultimate 12 months of the three 12 months sentence on the accused getting into right into a bond to maintain the peace and be of fine behaviour for 3 12 months subsequent to his launch and to abide by all situations of the probation service.

McGinley entered into his bond which suggests he could have a complete of 5 years and 4 months to serve in jail with time backdated to when he initially went into custody in April final 12 months.

Man who battered pizza employee with iron bar jailed for five years was final modified: July fifth, 2023 by Workers Author