A man who carried out a “cowardly” and “callous” robbery in which another man was knocked unconscious has been jailed for a year.
Ciaran Foster (30), of Rutland Grove, Crumlin, appeared before Judge Elma Duffy in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to one count of robbery on Westmoreland Street, Dublin 2, on July 23rd, 2019.
Garda Sean Tully told Emmet Nolan BL, prosecuting, that the injured man had stopped to chat with someone he knew when he was attacked.
Foster was walking past the two, when he punched the man in the face and knocked him to the ground.
He took a bag the man was carrying and fled the scene. Another man with Foster checked the injured party's pockets and took his mobile phone and watch.
Gardaí were alerted to the incident. When they arrived at the scene, they saw the injured man in shock and with blood running down his neck.
The injured man was brought to hospital, where he was found to have bruising to his face and a lump on his head from where he struck the pavement. He suffered from amnesia and could not recall what had happened.
CCTV footage of the event was played to the court. It showed the injured party lying unconscious on the street for three and a half minutes after Foster punched him.
Gardai identified Foster from CCTV footage and arrested him on November 9th, 2019.
No victim impact statement was handed in to the court.
Kevin White BL, defending, said his client “can only describe it as a moment of utter madness.”
He said the robbery was “utterly opportunistic” and that his client “has very little memory of this particular incident” as he had been drinking beforehand.
Mr White said his client, who was formerly in the Defence Forces, was homeless at the time and “unreservedly apologizes for what he did.”
He said his client “is very, very lucky that this wasn't a very serious injury that was suffered” and is “willing to do whatever this court deems appropriate.”
Foster has 13 previous convictions for road traffic offences, criminal damage, public order and misuse of drugs.
In sentencing, Judge Duffy described the attack as “callous” and said the injured man was “entirely minding his own business when, in an unprovoked way and from behind, he was attacked.”
She said the robbery was “entirely unprovoked” and “opportunistic, but it's aggressive in its opportunism”.
The judge said the mitigating factors were that Foster had a difficult childhood, had served in the defence forces and had pleaded guilty.
Aggravating factors included the “very cowardly nature of this robbery,” that “it was very nasty” and “entirely unprovoked.”
Judge Duffy said Foster was “very lucky that he's not facing a more serious charge because these incidents very often have a very unhappy ending.”
Foster was sentenced to a period of two and a half years' imprisonment. Judge Duffy suspended the final 18 months on strict conditions.
