Enniskillen Courthouse
A 23-year-old who tried to rob an Irvinestown premises and assaulted four people, including a police officer has been sentenced to six months imprisonment.
Leeroy McDonagh, of Glebe Park, Enniskillen appeared in Fermanagh Magistrates Court to face the charges.
The prosecutor told the court that on September 22 at around 7.30pm a man entered the premises of ‘Johnny Rockos’ on Main Street Irvinestown and tried to steal money from the till and attempted to assault three members of staff. Staff noted that he was clearly intoxicated at the time.
One male member of staff was kicked in the shin, a female member of staff was kicked in the stomach and groin, while another male member of staff was kicked to the right knee. Members of staff were able to restrain the defendant until police arrived.
When police arrived and arrested McDonagh he struggled and kicked out at one officer to the cheek. At the station it was decided that the defendant was not fit for interview due to the alcohol he had consumed.
CCTV footage from the incident clearly showed the defendant going behind the counter and trying to open the till. The footage showed McDonagh trying to open the till with a key, pushing every button and trying to pull the wire out of it, all in an attempt to steal the money.
When interviewed by police the following day McDonagh said he did not remember anything. He had been drinking gin in Pat’s Bar, Enniskillen and didn’t remember being in Irvinestown.
The officer who was assaulted suffered a minor abrasion and bruising to the right cheek, while two members of staff suffered immediate pains from the blows. The other sustained no injury.
Conor Heaney, defending, said that when the incident was put to McDonagh in the morning after he accepted it was an unsavoury incident and was unjustified. Mr Heaney noted that two days previous the defendant had been drinking almost continuously in Enniskillen and indicated to police at the time of the incident he had drunk a significant quantity of spirits.
Mr Heaney said that McDonagh’s attempt to steal was “amateurish” and that there was no chance he would get money from the till. He asked that the court take into account there was no malicious intent to inflict gratuitous violence, rather it was simply a reaction to people who were trying to restrain him.
Mr Heaney explained that the defendant had a long history of offences involving alcohol and a long standing dependency on it. He noted that the defendant to his credit had avoided contact with any of the witnesses and asked the court to take into account the fact McDonagh had already spent a significant amount of time in custody.
District Judge Mervyn Bates said that due to the defendant’s record he passed the custody threshold. He said McDonagh got “no bonus points for being amateurish” and commended those who protected their premises and the officer, who was assaulted for his efforts. The judge told the court that the defendant had 43 previous convictions, 15 of those for theft and five for burglary. He did though take into account the fact McDonagh had spent time in custody when imposing the sentence.
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