Eddie Kiely (29) punched and kicked the victim who had given him access to a flat complex, before locking himself inside the man's apartment. Gardaí had to force entry and found Kiely “highly intoxicated” on the man's sitting room couch.
Kiely, of Whiteacre Place, Ballymun, Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to burglary and assault at Coultry Terrace, Ballymun on June 7th, 2019. He has 84 previous convictions.
Kiely is currently serving a two year sentence for robbery and a consecutive three year sentence for criminal damage which was imposed by Judge Martin Nolan last October.
Judge Melanie Greally today imposed a six year sentence, with the final 18 months suspended, which she made consecutive to the two year sentence and concurrent to the three year sentence. She said this would effectively extend his current time in prison by 18 months.
Detective Garda Cathal Connolly told Fiona McGowan BL, prosecuting, that the victim had been asleep in his apartment at 4am when he heard banging on the main door to the complex. He opened the door and Kiely, who was unknown to him, pushed his way inside.
Kiely demanded money from the man before pushing him to the ground and searching him. Kiely hit the man hard to the face and kicked him in the head area.
Kiely then left him on the floor and went into the man's flat through the open door, locking it behind him. The man went to his neighbour for aid and gardaí were called.
The man was treated in hospital for bruising and a laceration under his eye. He also underwent a CT scan, as he had a tumour removed from his head a number of years before, which came back clear.
Gerardine Small BL, defending, said she had been instructed to apologise on behalf of her client to the unfortunate injured party. She said Kiely accepted his behaviour on the night was appalling.
Ms Small said Kiely was “totally intoxicated” and remembers nothing of events.
She said after leaving school Kiely had been drawn into the local subculture of drug misuse. After leaving prison in 2013 following a previous sentence he had been doing well, but relapsed into drug use following the tragic loss of one of his children in 2017.
She said Kiely had taken serious steps to rehabilitate and is engaging with the drug counsellor. She said he was using his time productively, accessing education and was a model prisoner.
Judge Greally in sentencing noted the victim had come out of his own home “out of some sense of kindness and accommodation” to admit what he assumed was a neighbour only to be “assaulted in a most vicious and entirely unjustified manner.”
She said the fact that the victim had been punched and kicked round the head was a significant aggravating factor. She noted he had endured the worry of whether those blows were going to have an effect on his brain as a result of past surgery.
The judge noted Kiely's long standing issues with alcohol appeared to be a major factor but that this was not an excuse and he must face consequences.
Judge Greally noted that the loss of his child was a major trigger in his relapse and took into account his determination to rehabilitate.
