Youth used police-style baton in attempted mugging

A 16-year-old boy beat a man in the face with a metal police-style baton during an attempted mugging in Dublin city centre, a court has heard.

The teenager pleaded guilty at Dublin Children’s Court to charges of attempted robbery and possessing a weapon capable of causing injury or incapacitating a person.

Garda Robert Mahony said that on the night of September 4th last year, he responded to a report of an incident at City Quay.

A Malaysian national who was injured and “cut to the face” approached him, he said.

The victim pointed out the youth, who had been detained by members of the public, and he identified the teenager as “the man who hit him with the baton”.

The weapon, similar to the the Asp baton issued to gardaí, was shown to Judge John O’Connor.

Telescopic weapon

Garda Mahony explained it was a “retractable metal baton” and demonstrated how the telescopic weapon extended in length.

The court heard the man still suffers from numbness in his mouth and his partner suffered bruising to one of her eyes. They had been walking to their home at the time of the incident.

Photos of their injuries and medical reports were handed in to court.

The teenager’s guilty plea meant the victim and his girlfriend did not have to give evidence.

The court heard the violent confrontation only lasted a couple of minutes and no property was taken.

The boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of theft of a bicycle on a date in February last year.

Defence solicitor Gareth Noble said the teen's earlier offence did not involve the use of violence.

No prior convictions

The court heard the teenager had no prior criminal convictions and accepted he caused the injuries.

The lawyer said he was instructed to apologise, and it was hoped this could be conveyed to the victim and his partner.

State solicitor Terence Hamilton said this would need to be done in a letter because the man and woman were very nervous.

The boy’s solicitor said the Probation Service, who will be preparing an updated pre-sentence report on him, will want to assess issues such as anger and aggression.

He said a probation report provided to the court was positive, and this was a “good first step”.

The teenager left school after completing the Junior Cert and is now in a training course, but hopes to return to mainstream education in September. Mr Noble said the youth did not have any addiction difficulties and has committed family support.

Judge O’Connor said the probation report furnished to the court was positive but it related only to the bike theft charge but the newer charges were, he added, “in a totally different category”, and that was an aggravating factor.

“I really have to think of the victim in this case,” he said.

The boy, who was accompanied to court by his mother, remained silent during the hearing and was remanded on bail to appear again next month.