Ex-Blackrock rugby player pleads guilty to taxi assault

A former Blackrock College rugby player who assaulted and robbed a taxi driver to avoid paying a fare will be sentenced June next.

Sashi Buti (19) was caught because he left his passport behind in the taxi following the incident. He went to gardaí shortly after the assault and reported his passport as lost.

Mr Buti, of Tyrconnell Grove, Inchicore, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the robbery of Joseph Saji at St Michael's Estate, Inchicore on the night of August 23rd, 2014.

Judge Catherine Murphy adjourned the case until June 13th and ordered a report from the probation services.

Garda Mark Costello told Fionnuala O’Sullivan BL, prosecuting, that Mr Buti flagged down the taxi on the Naas Road and got into the front passenger seat. Another man with Mr Buti got into the back seat.

The two men told the taxi driver to take them to St Michael’s Estate, which Mr Costello described as a derelict site with no CCTV cameras.

Once there, the other man put his arm around the driver’s neck, and Mr Buti started hitting him. Mr Buti then sat up on the driver while the men robbed his iPhone, satnav device and €220 in cash.

Shortly after getting out of the car, Mr Buti realised he had left his passport, mobile phone and a necklace in the footwell of the taxi.

He went back to the car but the driver had locked the doors. Mr Buti later reported his passport as lost in a garda station.

After being arrested for the robbery, Mr Buti told gardaí that he didn’t know how his property had ended up in the taxi.

The driver suffered tenderness and swelling as a result of the attack. None of the stolen items were recovered and he is no longer happy to pick up passengers on the street, which has resulted in a loss of income.

‘Do a runner’

Fiona Pecker BL, defending, said that her client was drunk on the night. She said Mr Buti claimed not to know the other man but that this man had suggested that they both “do a runner” on a taxi, as Mr Buti had no money to get home after a night out.

She said Mr Buti became involved with Leinster rugby at the age of 14 and played with the under-15 team. He went on to play for Blackrock College and later for Liberty Saints. He currently plays for Guinness Rugby FC.

She said he was born in Nigeria but came here at the age of eight. His mother, who was in court, was said to be extremely shocked and appalled at his actions.

Counsel said Mr Buti has no other previous convictions and can only apologise for his behaviour.

The judge said it was a “clever ploy” by Mr Buti to report his passport lost. She said: “He concocted a cock and bull story to gardaí.”

Before adjourning the case, the judge asked barristers for both the State and for Mr Buti to speak to her in her chambers.

After returning to court, she invited Mr Buti to provide the court with statements from his former rugby mentors or from Blackrock College and told him they might be of assistance to the court in determining the most appropriate sentence.