A teenager who slashed a man behind his ear with a penknife over a feud about an ex-girfriend has been ordered to pay his victim €5,000 within six months or go to prison for two and a half years.
Thomas Brannock, who had no previous convictions and whom gardaí described as behaving in "an exemplary manner" since, threw an iron bar at the windscreen of the victim's friend three weeks later.
Brannock (20), Silloge Road, Ballymun, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing Paul Green harm on October 24th, 2005. A second charge of criminal damage to Shane Dempsey's car on November 9th, 2005 was taken into account.
Det Garda Cathal O'Toole agreed with defence counsel, Gerard Charlton BL, that Brannock's behaviour was totally out of character and confirmed that he thought it would be unlikely that he would be before the courts again.
Judge Anthony Hunt said he could not accept the fact that the row was over a girlfriend as a justification for assault. "If a dispute over a young woman was used as a legitimate excuse to use knives, the courts would never be out of work," he said.
He added that he took a "very serious view" of people who carry knives, which was made worse by the fact that Brannock intended to use the weapon.
He suspended the two and half -year jail term on condition that Brannock pay the victim €5,000 by June 30th, 2008 having noted he already had €2,500 in court to be passed on to Mr Green.