Men sentenced for causing traumatic brain injury during assault

By Claire Henry

Two young men have been sentenced for their roles in a violent incident, during which another man sustained a traumatic brain injury.

Daryl Donnery (23)  pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm and affray. Josh Doran (23) and Dylan Martin (21) both pleaded guilty to affray while Brandon Leech (25) pleaded guilty to production of an article.

Detective Garda Gavin Feely told Pieter Le Vert, BL, prosecuting, at a previous hearing that a man and a woman had purchased drugs in the Island Key, East Wall area of Dublin on November 17, 2020.

After the man left the area, he decided he had been dealt with unfairly and he and the woman drove back to the area. The man pulled his Audi car alongside a group of youths, got out, and began a conversation with them. None of the four co-accused had anything to do with the sale of drugs.

The court heard that Donnery, of Island Key, East Wall, Dublin pushed the man, and a melee began. Donnery then walked away.

Leech, of Teeling Way, East Road, East Wall, Dublin 3, was then seen striking the man before he removed the saddle from the bicycle and struck the Audi a number of times with it.

Doran, of Island Key Apartments, East Road, East Wall, Dublin, was also seen assaulting the man. He then left the area but returned holding an object believed to be a bat. He struck the windscreen of the car and the driver’s window.

Both the man and woman managed to return to the car. The man then reversed his car back a few metres and drove his Audi towards the youths. The man mounted the curb and footpath and struck a third-party male and an apartment building, causing a piece of the building to break and fall to the ground.

Det Gda Feely said Donnery picked up a piece of debris and threw it into an open door of the car. The car was then attacked by various people with implements. The Audi managed to leave the area but collided with several cars.

The Audi was seen stopped by a passing garda car; the gardai went over to the car and found the male driver collapsed. He was treated at the scene and brought to the Mater Hospital and later transferred to the ICU in Beaumont Hospital.

The court heard that the man was bleeding from the right ear and had bruising and soft tissue injuries. A CT scan showed a traumatic brain injury, including a fracture, along with multiple brain injuries. He spent nine days in hospital before discharging himself against medical advice.

Judge Elma Sheahan handed Donnery a sentence of two years and nine months, with the final 12 months suspended. She also imposed a two-year sentence on Martin  of Island Key Apartments, East Wall, Dublin 3, which was suspended in full on strict conditions.

She noted that both men chose to involve himself in a “significant and violent” incident in which another man received an injury.

The judge said Martin and Donnery had both taken part in the violence, and this incident had a “serious effect” on the injured man and would have created fear in the wider community.  She said the reversing of the car could not be considered a justification or defence for this type of behaviour.

Having considered the mitigation, she said Donnery’s moral culpability was “significant” and the custodial threshold had been reached. However, the judge suspended the final 12 months of the sentence, given Donnery’s efforts to upskill and get into employment, and his youth at the time of the offence.

Judge Sheahan said she took into account the mitigation for Martin, including that he had not come to recent garda attention, his guilty plea and that he is working.

Addressing Martin, she told him: “Don’t come back before the court.”

At a previous sitting, Judge Sheahan said the incident was frightening and vicious. She said that both Leech and Doran were willing participants in a group attack.

Judge Sheahan said the aggravating factor in relation to both Leech and Doran was the seriousness of the offending in itself.  In dealing with Leech, she outlined the following mitigating factors – his guilty pleas, the remorse that he has shown, his age at the time of the offending and the support of his family.

The judge said that Doran’s mitigating factors were his guilty plea and the remorse he has shown, his lack of offending since 2021, his personal circumstances and his apprenticeship.

Judge Sheahan set headline sentences of three years for both men and reduced them to two years after considering the mitigating factors.

She then said she would put this matter back for 12 months in order for both Leech and Doran to engage with the probation services. She said: “I want to make it clear that there are no promises being made in this matter.”

The court heard that the injured party did not provide a victim impact statement. Donnery has five previous convictions, Leech has 17, and Doran and Martin both have 15.

Two other juveniles were also involved in the incident, one of whom received a 20 month sentence.

Det Gda Feely agreed with Michael O’Higgins. SC, defending Donnery, that the couple in question came to the area to buy drugs but not from the four men in this case. He agreed that the guilty plea from his client was of value.

Mr O’Higgins said that there had been a serious attempt to harm the group of young men by the man driving the Audi and that it was not a half-hearted attempt. He said it was a miracle that no one else was seriously injured.

He said his client picked up a piece of the wall that had come away when it was struck by the Audi and threw it through the open door of the Audi. He outlined that this was “an impulsive act”, and his client apologised to the injured man and the court.

The detective agreed with Keith Spencer, BL, defending Leech, that the injured man in this case is the subject of a European arrest warrant.

Mr Spencer said that his client hit the window of the Audi several times with the saddle of a bicycle but highlighted that none of the injuries sustained by the injured man were caused by Leech.

Mr Spencer said his client was “21 at the time and did not go out looking for trouble, but it was brought to his own door”. He said his client has good prospects and has stayed off the garda radar since this incident.

Oisin Clarke, BL, defending Doran, told the court that none of the injuries sustained by the injured man were caused by his client. He said that his client has not been on the garda radar for the past three years.

Mr Clarke handed character references to the court on his client’s behalf and said that he had strong family support and was like a father figure to his sisters.  He said Doran had issues with drugs in the past when he was a young man, but that is behind him now.

He said the court had seen the nature of the driving and that this was an intentional act to harm people.

“The court has the option of a custodial sentence, but I would ask the court that an immediate custodial action is not warranted. I would ask the court to be as lenient as possible,” Mr Clarke said.

Aoife O’Leary, BL, defending Martin, said her client engaged with the car after it was driven towards him and others. She said at that time, his younger sister was on the footpath. She said that her client did engage with the female passenger for about twelve seconds.

She said that her client wishes to express his remorse and apologies. She said he entered an early guilty plea and had just turned 18 at the time of the incident. Martin has not come to garda attention since this incident occurred in 2020.

Ms O’Leary said her client is in full-time employment and undertaking an apprenticeship. He has fully rehabilitated himself since this offence, the court heard.

She handed a character reference to the court on behalf of her client. She asked the court to treat him as someone who has engaged in full rehabilitation and has the support of his family.