Enniskillen Courthouse
A 23-year-old Irvinestown man who went on a rampage with a two foot long machete, slashing two people then absconded to the South before he could be arrested.
Appearing via videolink at Enniskillen Magistrates Court Michael Maughan was sentenced to a further six months imprisonment following the incident on September 23, 2012.
The prosecutor explained that in the early hours of the morning police received reports that the defendant was talking to other men outside the Necarne Arms in Irvinestown, allegedly offering to sell them drugs.
He then went into the pub before being chased by a male out of the pub.
It is understood that Maughan had the two-foot long machete stashed somewhere in the locality and went to retrieve it before returning to the Mill Street area.
Maughan came across the injured party and began repeatedly shouting “where’s Brian?” before hitting him on the back of the head with either a slap or a punch.
The injured party confronted Maughan over the incident before the defendant produced the machete from side of his trousers.
The injured party then ran off in fear and was pursued by Maughan for a period before the defendant returned to the area of the Necarne Arms.
It was then he came across the second injured party, again shouting “where’s Brian?”.
He launched himself at the injured party and slashed his left forearm three times causing three cuts half an inch long.
After this he approached the third injured party, who was with his girlfriend.
The injured party and his girlfriend were standing at the driver’s door and passenger’s door of a vehicle when Maughan approached swinging the machete in the direction of the woman.
Getting gradually closer to his girlfriend the injured party stepped in to protect her and grabbed the machete out of Maughan’s hand.
In the struggle with the defendant the blade went into the left thumb of the injured party causing a one and half inch laceration.
In the immediate aftermath Maughan fled the scene and ran in the direction of Mahon’s Hotel. A council worker located the weapon the following morning in a nearby flowerbed.
The defendant was identified by descriptions given by the injured parties and during a VIPER procedure. No interview was conducted however, as police were unable to find the defendant, who was subsequently arrested in the South.
The court heard the defendant had spent significant time in custody, in both the North and the South and was currently serving a sentence from Downpatrick Crown Court imposed in 2011. His date for release was set to be February 22, 2015.
Intoxicated
Defence solicitor Tommy Owens told the court his client accepted full responsibility for the incident and said luckily the injuries sustained were only superficial.
Referring to the incident the solicitor explained that Maughan was heavily intoxicated and said that he was not a violent man whose previous record was for theft and dishonesty.
District judge Nigel Broderick questioned this assertion: “Downpatrick Crown Court would contradict that.” The judge said these were ‘serious matters’ aggravated by the fact a weapon was used.
“No doubt it was a very traumatic experience for the injured parties,” said Mr Broderick, but “thankfully there were no long term injuries, only small residual scarring.”
The judge said the custody threshold had been crossed and added a further six months to Maughan’s term. A destruction order for the machete was also made.
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