A Stranorlar man who smashed a bottle over the head of another man after claiming he owed him money has been jailed for three months.
Darius McAteer appeared at Letterkenny District Court in Co Donegal charged with assault at an address at Cappry, Ballybofey.
The 23-year-old is charged with assault causing harm to Kyle Scanlon on April 14th, 2017.
The court was told that McAteer and another unnamed man called to Mr Scanlon’s home seeking money that the victim allegedly owed to McAteer’s brother.
Garda Sergeant Jim Collins said that during the dispute McAteer smashed a bottle over the victim’s head.
The attack resulted in Mr Scanlon receiving a cut to his eyebrow which required a number of medical stitches.
McAteer, who pleaded guilty to the charge, has 61 previous convictions.
He is currently serving a four year jail sentence which he received at Letterkenny Circuit Court for burglary and making threats to kill on July 16th, 2020.
McAteer’s solicitor, Mr Frank Dorrian, said the incident before the court happened six years ago when his client was aged 17 years and out of control from substance abuse.
His time in prison had brought McAteer a “great deal of sight into his life”, added Mr Dorrian.
He added that McAteer is now 24 and knows that any substance abuse does not hold a future for him.
He said that all his troubles were borne out of this addiction and that he became a target for unwelcome advances by others because of this but that he has now matured.
“All he can do is his best. He has a limited educational background and he hopes to advance in an orderly manner,” added Mr Dorrian.
The accused took to the witness box and apologised to Mr Scanlon and added “I don’t want to be associated with it (violence) no more.”
The court was told that McAteer’s release date from prison is August 31st, 2024 and that there was no offer of compensation in the case.
Judge Brendan O’Reilly sentenced McAteer to three months in prison from his due release date.
Mr Dorrian said that his client was on bail at the time of this incident and that he has served his sentence saying that to add to it would be unnecessary.
Judge O’Reilly replied that the sentence available for the charge is 12 months, that an apology has to be “dragged” out of McAteer and that no compensation was offered.
“This is a serious assault and the three months in prison is a measured response. This was a Section 3 assault where a bottle was used and blood was drawn,” added Judge O’Reilly