A young Donegal farmer who left a man with a head injury after a one-punch attack has avoided prison.
Kyle Leeper was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence when he appeared before Judge John Aylmer at Letterkenny Circuit Court.
Leeper, who admitted the attack on Don Rowan in a mistaken row over a taxi on February 20, 2022, gave his victim €15,000 as a token of remorse.
Leeper, a 25-year-old of Carrickbrack, Convoy, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm at Lower Main Street, Letterkenny.The court heard how the victim had got into a car with his wife and friends after mistakenly thinking it was a taxi.
Leeper came out of a nearby bar with his girlfriend and also tried to get into the car as it was driven by his girlfriend’s dad.
A row ensued and there was some “slagging” before Mr Rowan was struck with one punch by Leeper.
Garda Sergeant Maurice Doyle gave evidence that the victim fell backwards onto the pavement and banged his head. He was put in an ambulance but felt okay and did not go to hospital.
However, the following day, he was vomiting and went to Letterkenny University Hospital before being transferred to Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital where a neurological team found he suffered a displaced fracture and other facial injuries.
He was off work for three months as a result of the injuries he sustained in the attack.
Gardai launched an investigation and CCTV was harvested from local premises while pictures of the victim were also taken.
Leeper, of Carrickbrack, Convoy, was interviewed by Gardai and claimed the incident was “a self defence sort of thing.”
He explained how himself and his girlfriend were due to get a lift home off her dad but that other people had got into the car and that names were “flying in” but nothing bad had happened.
No direct reference was made to Leeper striking Mr Rowan but he said this was the first time something like this had happened to him and that he never wanted it to happen again.
Ms Fiona Crawford BL, barrister for the State, said the offer of €15,000 was acceptable to the victim.
Barrister for Leeper, Mr Peter Nolan BL, instructed by solicitor Mr Donough Clear, said his client had no previous convictions, had never been in trouble before and worked as a farm contractor having a degree in Agricultural Science.
He lives with his girlfriend in a mobile home and they have recently had a son, Mr Nolan said.
Mr Nolan said “I would suggest this is a young man who never got in any bother before, is hard working and on this occasion he made a bad decision. He committed a criminal act but is not a criminal.
“Yes, I agree that throwing one punch can lead to devastating consequences and in some ways he is lucky that Mr Rowan is not more seriously injured.”
Two references were previously handed into court on behalf of Leeper, one from Gibson Farm Services and one from Councillor Frank McBrearty, both of which spoke very positively of Leeper.
At a hearing to finalise sentencing, a further reference, by Reverend Colin McKibbin, who said he knew Leeper since he attended Sunday School in his younger years.
Rev McKibbin described Leeper as “hard working” and said he had a recent conversation during which he sensed “genuine remorse” from the accused man.
Leeper took to the witness stand and told the court that he would like to say sorry to his victim.
“I’d just like to say sorry and say I have learned a lesson and it will not happen again. It was a spur of the moment thing,” he said.
Mr Nolan told the court that his client was also offering his victim €15,000 which he has borrowed from his parents and which he will pay back.
He said Leeper had suffered psychologically from the incident and was on antidepressants.
A probation report on Leeper said there had been no reoffending since this incident and put him at a low risk of reoffending in the future.
Passing sentence, Judge Aylmer said the victim suffered serious head injuries, including fractures, having fallen back onto the pavement under the force of a punch from Leeper.
He said the victim recovered from physical injuries uneventfully, the incident had a “serious psychological” impact.
Judge Aylmer said he placed Leeper’s offending in the mid-range and had a starting point of three years in prison before mitigation was considered.
Judge Aylmer said the incident was “completely out of character” and represented “a single bad decision” by Leeper and one made while he was quite intoxicated.
While the consumption of alcohol was not a defence, Judge Aylmer said, it was relevant in how Leeper behaved on the night in question.
Noting that the defendant has now settled down and is a father of a young child, he noted that Leeper has no previous convictions and is categorised as a low risk of reoffending.
He said Leeper appeared very remorseful and the offer of €15,000 was a “significant token” of that remorse.
Adding that Leeper was a young man with an excellent work ethic and work record, he reduced the sentence to one of two years in prison.
Given the absence of previous convictions and noting the positive report from the Probation Service, Judge Aylmer said this was an unusual case in that he could suspend the entirety of the sentence upon Leeper entering a bond of €100 to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for two years.
“It is highly likely that it is the last time that you will be before a criminal court,” Judge Aylmer said.