Courts

Drug addict who stabbed doctor with needle has jail term doubled

Doctor was left ‘shattered’ and moved out of emergency medicine after attack by Stephen Ennis (32)

The attacked doctor had been training to become an emergency medicine consultant but has since opted for a career in general practice as a consequence of the assault, the Court of Appeal heard. Photograph: Alan Betson
The attacked doctor had been training to become an emergency medicine consultant but has since opted for a career in general practice as a consequence of the assault, the Court of Appeal heard. Photograph: Alan Betson
Wed May 25 2022 - 15:52

A violent drug addict who charged at a hospital doctor before stabbing him three times in the back with a needle taken from his own arm will be returned to prison to serve a new sentence after his original one-year jail term was more than doubled on appeal.

The Court of Appeal heard that the doctor had moved to Ireland to realise his dream of becoming an emergency medicine consultant but has since given up his hopes after the attack by Stephen Ennis (32) left him “shattered”.

At a hearing in February, Ennis was told the appeal court would focus on the content of probation reports and was warned that “the ball was in his court” if he wanted to avoid another prison term.

However, the three-judge appeal court was told that Ennis – who has 72 previous convictions – has since been detained on drugs and shoplifting charges.

READ MORE

The court had previously noted that recent legislation meant attacks on medical frontline responders could attract a 40 per cent premium in sentencing.

Ennis, of Cashel Road, Crumlin, Dublin, was jailed in October 2020 after he pleaded guilty to assaulting a person providing medical care in St James’ Hospital, James Street, Dublin 8, on March 7th, 2020.

But the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) later appealed the sentence on the grounds that insufficient weight had been given by Judge Martin Nolan to the harm caused to the injured party in the case.

In its submission to the Court of Appeal, the DPP said that the medic was a foreign national who had been training to become an emergency medicine consultant when he first encountered Ennis in his hospital’s emergency department. But he has since opted for a career in general practice as a consequence of the assault, which he said had made him realise how vulnerable frontline healthcare workers were in the course of their duty.

In judgement delivered by Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, she said the attack has had a “profound impact” on the victim and on the hopes he had of pursuing his “long sought-after career” when he moved to Ireland.

Quashing the original sentence, she described the respondent as someone with “a deep-seated drug addiction” and said that a headline sentence of four years was a suitable starting point for the offence. She then reduced the term by one year to take into account attempts by Ennis to tackle his drug addiction following a recent return to custody, before suspending the final six months of the three-year prison term.

Ennis’s sentence had been quashed at an appeal hearing in February. At that time, he was warned by Mr Justice John Edwards that the court’s final decision would be “very much influenced” by the content of probation reports which would focus on Ennis’s claim he was no longer using drugs.

However, Keith Spencer BL, for Ennis, told the court that in the intervening period his client had “suffered a relapse” and had been detained on drugs and shoplifting charges. But his client, counsel continued, had not applied for High Court bail because he preferred to remain in custody as he once again tried to combat his drug addiction.

Previously, Mr Spencer said his client had been suffering from a “deep-rooted addiction” at the time of the offence.

At the sentence hearing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Nolan was told Ennis had 72 previous convictions, including for violent disorder, possession of drugs for sale or supply, possession of knives, burglary and begging.

Garda Ciaran O’Sullivan told Fiona Crawford BL, prosecuting, that on the day of the assault Ennis was found collapsed outside Pearse Street Garda station having a seizure and was brought by ambulance to St James’ Hospital. Garda O’Sullivan said that while in the hospital Ennis would not stay on his trolley and was bothering nurses, before appearing to calm down.

Ennis agreed to have a blood sample taken and a doctor inserted a needle into his wrist. Ennis then withdrew the needle, held it over his head and charged towards the doctor. The doctor ran away from Ennis down the corridor shouting for help, but they ended up bundled on the floor together. A healthcare worker came to the doctor’s assistance and got Ennis off of the doctor. The doctor was unaware that he had been stabbed three times in the back until he was told so by his colleague.

Ennis was brought back to the Garda station where he was deemed unfit to be interviewed for some time. When he was interviewed, he said he did not remember much of the incident, but admitted he had stabbed the doctor.

Garda O’Sullivan agreed with Mr Spencer, defending, that his client was a heroin addict and that the seizure was caused by withdrawal symptoms. He accepted Ennis was behaving “erratically” in the hospital and “babbling” that somebody was going to kill him.