A 17-year-old Dublin boy denies having an active role in a gang attack on a man pursued and beaten with a baseball bat five days before his death from a suspected drug overdose.
Dublin Children's Court heard the victim's injuries could have contributed to hasten his death.
Gardaí charged the teen with violent disorder in connection with the incident in Ballymun in north Dublin on August 23rd, 2018.
He cannot be named because he is a minor and faced a preliminary hearing to decide his trial venue.
Verbal argument
Outlining the allegations, Detective Garda Ronan Cogavan said there was a verbal argument at around 8pm at a green near Balbutcher Lane and Carrig Road between a large and small group of males.
The dispute was believed to be over drugs.
The boy, then aged 15, was in the large group which chased the male.
The victim was punched from behind, knocking him unconscious, and then beaten across his legs with a baseball bat after he went onto the ground. The bat broke as it struck the victim.
It was accepted the boy did not assault him. However, the detective alleged he was with the larger group.
The man died five days later. However, a post-mortem report said his injuries were not fatal, and he had an intake of drugs sufficient to cause death.
However, the injuries potentially contributed to the hastening of death, the report also stated.
CCTV footage was played in court.
Alleged involvement
Defence solicitor Brian Keenan pleaded with Judge Paul Kelly not to send the case to the Circuit Court, which has broader sentencing powers. He asked the judge to note the boy was aged 15, and his alleged level of involvement was minor.
Older youths and a man in his 20s are the other defendants in separate proceedings.
Mr Keenan said, “it is a matter that he will be fully contesting”; the boy identified himself in the footage but denies taking an active part in the incident.
Prosecution solicitor Michelle Sheeran said it was the State's case that the boy was fully involved.
The Director of Public Prosecutions directed that the teen's trial should be in the higher court.
Accepting jurisdiction, however, the judge noted the autopsy report outlined how the unfortunate man had twice the average level of methadone in his blood of overdose victims. He also heard that the boy did not strike him.
The teen, accompanied to court by his mother, was remanded on continuing bail. The court will set his hearing date next month.
