Man jailed for striking his partner in the face with a bottle and saucepan

By Sonya McLean

A Lativan man who beat his then partner causing her to immediately report the assault to the local garda station has been jailed for three years.

Danguole Abukeviciute went to Bridewell Garda Station in Dublin with a badly bruised face. She pointed at her face and said “Ainars Grants” to gardaí as she had very little English.

Detective Garda Owen Brady said an interpreter was called in to help and the woman told gardaí that she had been struck in the face with a bottle and a saucepan by her partner, Grants (43).

She said Grants wanted credit for his phone and she left their apartment to get it in an effort to escape him.

She told gardaí she was too afraid to return to their home.

“If I go back, he will kill me,” Ms Abukeviciute said before she added that Grants had been choking her.

A victim impact statement from the woman said “I don’t want him to come near me any more, keep him away”.

Grants of Queen Street, Dublin 2, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to assaulting the woman on August 13, 2020.

He was refused bail and has been in custody since the attack. Grants has 40 previous convictions, including 24 for public order offences.

Judge Patricia Ryan suspended the final six months of a three-and-half year term on condition that Grants give an undertaking not to have any contact with Ms Abukeviciute by any means, either directly or indirectly.

She said she had taken into account the fact that it was a serious assault, “which can be seen quite clearly in the photographs (of her injuries)”, the breach of trust involved and the fact it happened in her own home.

Judge Ryan said she accepted that Grants had pleaded guilty and had spent his time on remand in custody well.

Det Gda Brady told Brian Storan BL, prosecuting, that the couple had been in a relationship for five or six years at the time and it was “a relationship that had its difficulties”.

He said that a doctor was called for the woman while she was in the garda station and it was recommended that she attend hospital for x-rays but she never attended hospital.

Photographs of her injuries were handed into the court.

Grants was arrested in his apartment that day and Det Gda Brady said he became aggressive and had to be restrained and handcuffed. He made no admissions in a later interview with gardaí.

Det Gda Brady agreed with Michael Lynn SC, defending, that his client has instructed that he will not contact the woman when he is eventually released from prison.

He accepted that he has seen a certificate that Grants has completed an anger management programme since his remand in custody and further accepted that this suggests that he is remorseful and has “learned a lesson”.

The garda agreed that “alcohol addiction” was the main factor behind Grants’ offending.

Mr Lynn said his client hopes to continue to remain alcohol free and to return to work following his release from prison.