Mayo man jailed for one-punch assault which left victim with a bleed on the brain

A BALLINA man who attacked two men in a drink and drug fuelled unprovoked assault who left one of his victims with a bleed on the brain has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Gerry Norman (24) of Cluain na Rí, Ballina was sentenced to four years imprisonment with the final two years suspended after pleading guilty to assault causing serious harm and assault causing harm at Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court.

The court heard that Mr Norman had taken a cocktail of alcohol and cocaine before attacking Dylan Tolan and Patrick Ruttledge in Diamond's car park in Ballina in the early hours of December 19, 2021.

Mr Ruttledge was his first victim and received damage to his teeth and approximately 20 minutes later, Mr Tolan was the victim of a one-punch assault by Mr Norman which left him unconscious on the ground. Neither of the victims were known to Mr Norman at the time.

As a result of the assault, Mr Tolan suffered fractures to the skull and was taken to hospital where it was discovered he also sustained bleeding and bruising on the brain. He also suffered from dental damage with fractures to eight of his teeth.

Following the assault, Mr Tolan has only 70 percent hearing capacity in his right ear and suffers from ongoing tinnitus while Mr Ruttledge suffered dental injuries.

Compensation

When the case appeared before Judge Eoin Garavan last July, he indicated a headline sentence of four years for the assault on Mr Tolan and directed Mr Norman to engage with the Probation Services to address addiction issues and come up with more compensation for his victims.

At last week's sentencing hearing, Mr Bernard Madden, senior counsel for Mr Norman said his client had come up with €5,000 to bring the total compensation for the victims to €15,000.

Mr Madden said his client accepts full responsibility for what happened and deeply regrets his behaviour. He pointed out that the probation report stated that it was 'most positive to witness a young man deal with his past in a mature and healing manner' and that Mr Norman has learned a salutary lesson and will not come to the attention of the courts again.

At the time of the assault, Mr Norman had no previous convictions but had been misusing both alcohol and cocaine and was induced in a 'paranoid or psychotic episode'. He has since attended counselling for his addictions and is no longer abusing alcohol or drugs and also attended anger management courses.

Mr Madden stressed that urinalysis shows that his client remains drug and alcohol free and has taken a huge step in addressing trauma from his childhood by attending Mindspace Mayo.

READ MORE: Mayo man left with permanent scarring following assault with bottle

He added he works in a senior role in an abattoir in Ballina and this shows he is a valued member of this work. He described what happened as a 'one-off' and was dealing with issues which will be a concern to the court.

Judge Garavan described what happened as a tragic event in that Mr Norman is a 'good young man in many ways' but the offence is so serious that it carries a life sentence.

He described what happened on the night as 'vicious' and there was no justification for the violent blow given to Mr Tolan. He noted that the dental work cost Mr Tolan €6,500 alone and the consequences of the assault were not minor.

“This attack was entirely unprovoked. Why did it happen? Because Mr Norman was intoxicated with alcohol and cocaine fueling his rage against people who were unknown to him. They were random victims of the anger of Mr Norman. There was no reason for the assault whatsoever,” Judge Garavan commented.

Out of character

Mr Norman was aged 20 at the time and Judge Garavan accepted that he is a hard working young man with no previous convictions and that this was out of character for him. He noted his remorse and the compensation for his victims and that he is considered as a low risk of reoffending.

However, while acknowledging the exemplary work Mr Norman has done since the incident, he had nobody to blame but himself and a custodial sentence must follow.

He said as a judge this was difficult to do given Mr Norman's progress but remarked that an attack of this nature and violence and the consequences which followed for his victims cannot be minimised.

Judge Garavan suspended two years of the four year sentence for the assault on Mr Tolan and told Mr Norman that while he feels he has learned his lesson, he hopes he understands the court must impose a sentence.

Mr Norman was also sentenced to 20 months for the assault on Mr Ruttledge but Judge Garavan said this sentence will run concurrently with the two year sentence.