A MAN who cut a carpenter’s left hand off with a samurai sword in a crowded Dublin pub has been remanded in custody pending sentence by Judge Katherine Delahunt.
Charles Russell (28), of Whitechapel Road, Dublin, pleaded guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing Peter Rogers serious harm at The Deputy Mayor Pub, Meekstown, on January 13th, 2008. His 31 previous convictions include road traffic and criminal damage offences.
Det Garda Tony Gleeson told Melanie Greally, prosecuting, that Russell severed Mr Rogers’s hand at the wrist with his first swing of the sword and the hand fell to the ground.
He said the victim did not notice he had lost his hand, which, he said, must have been due to shock. Mr Rogers continued to struggle with Russell, and at one stage punched the accused in the face with the stump of his arm.
Det Garda Gleeson said Mr Rogers would never have full use of his left hand again. He had suffered from depression, his relationship had since broken down, and he would never work in carpentry again or play golf or football.
Det Garda Gleeson said both Russell and his co-accused had left the pub earlier that day and returned with the sword and a hammer before they both assaulted Mr Rogers.
Judge Delahunt said it was “an assault of a most serious nature not only because of the weapon used but also the general circumstances” before she adjourned sentencing to later this week.
Det Garda Gleeson said Mr Rogers had been in the pub with friends that day when he heard a shout and was struck from behind with a hammer.
This blow came from Russell’s co-accused and friend who was then wrestled away by bar staff. He has denied the charges, and is due for trial later this year.
Russell then swung the samurai sword at Mr Rogers and continued to strike at him four or five times before staff in the pub dragged him away. He was restrained by the bar manager but managed to escape.
Det Garda Gleeson said a customer picked up Mr Rogers’s hand and placed it in ice in a black bag. The victim was taken to the Mater hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to reattach his hand.
Russell was arrested the following March after gardaí identified him having viewed CCTV footage in the pub.
“He gave no convincing reason for the motivation behind the attack,” said Det Garda Gleeson.
He agreed with Luan Ó Braonain, defending, that Russell’s co-accused claimed that Mr Rogers had said something insulting to his girlfriend’s mother, which led to their attack.
He accepted that while Russell did not say anything in interview, he consented to his blood being taken for DNA analysis, and to standing in an identification parade.