Jail for man who assaulted bouncer at Copper Face Jacks

A man who took part in the violent assault of a bouncer at Copper Face Jacks nightclub has been jailed for two years.

Paul Rice (25) of Allenton Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin was one of a group of six men who got into a row with bouncers at the nightclub on Harcourt Street on September 23th, 2014, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard on Friday.

Rice pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

The court heard two men attempted to get into the club but were refused entry. They then returned with four other men, including Rice.

When they were once again refused entry, Rice and another man dragged one bouncer across the street before punching him 17 times to the head. Rice threw nine of these punches, the court heard. The bouncer suffered a cut ear and bruising to the face.

Rice was arrested after he was identified by police on CCTV footage.

The attack was “particularly violent”, Garda Paul Murray told the court. “It happened very quickly. The door man was isolated on his own and attacked quite viciously.”

Another man who attacked the bouncer has since been jailed for four years, the court heard. A barrier was also thrown to the ground by some of the other men during the attack.

The court heard the men had been at a funeral the day before and were drunk at the time.

Rice has 11 previous convictions, including public order offences. The court heard he was extremely remorseful and wished to apologise to his victim.

Judge Terence O’Sullivan said it was a serious attack that was premeditated. “People get intoxicated on a regular basis but they don’t go out hitting people as a result of it,” he said. “In my view, there’s an element of premeditation, serious violence in a public place and an attack on people just doing their job.”

The judge sentenced Rice to three years’ imprisonment, but suspended the final year.