Sentencing of teen adjourned over Supreme Court judgment

The sentencing of a south County Dublin teenager who pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a 17-year-old has been adjourned in light of a Supreme Court judgment.

Tadhg Costello (18) of Richmond Hill, Monkstown, had pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Josh Leahy at Johnson's Court in Dublin city on May 31, 2012.

He had also pleaded not guilty to assault causing harm to Mr Leahy and unlawful possession of a knife on the same date.

But Costello changed his plea to guilty of attempted murder on the fifth day of his Central Criminal Court trial last November.

On that date Mr Paul Burns SC prosecuting told the court the plea was acceptable and the other two counts would be taken into consideration.

At Costello’s sentencing hearing yesterday Mr Damien Colgan SC defending told the court that in light of a Supreme Court decision on Thursday he may need to address the court and asked for a two to three-week adjournment.

On Thursday a unanimous Supreme Court judgment quashed an attempted rape conviction on grounds that suspects who request a lawyer cannot be questioned by gardaí until they get that legal advice.

Mr Justice Paul Butler told the court the defence had to consider the Supreme Court judgment and said that an aspect of the probation report caused him some concern.

“In relation to sentence I received a very comprehensive probation report and the very end of it talks about the future,” said the judge.

Mr Burns said a victim impact report had been prepared by Mr Leahy, who was in court with his mother and counsel asked for a shorter adjournment.

Mr Justice Butler told the court the defence needed to consider the judgment and remanded Costello on continuing bail for sentencing on March 21 next.

Costello’s guilty plea came following a decision by the judge on foot of two days of legal argument over the admissibility of Costello’s garda interview recordings.

Mr Leahy was stabbed six times in the back after he left a nightclub in South William Street in Dublin 2.

He suffered a collapsed lung and had a chest drain inserted at St James’s Hospital.