A man who used an e-bike to assault a garda who was trying to enforce Covid lockdown restrictions has been given a prison term of 20 months.
In May 2021, Corey Plunkett (32) was outside at around 2am with a number of other men when gardaí approached them in order to disperse them on foot of the partial lockdown restrictions in place at the time.
Plunkett was on an e-bike and began circling around the gardaí. A garda moved to grab him and Plunkett swung the e-bike at the victim, striking his eye.
The garda suffered a cut around the eye and required stitches but has made a full recovery, the court heard.
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Gardaí managed to arrest Plunkett, who was brought to the local Garda station. There, he was uncooperative and assaulted the Garda member-in-charge, Garda Kevin O’Keefe told Brian Storan BL, prosecuting.
Plunkett of Rosary Terrace, Library Rd, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin pleaded guilty to assaulting a Garda in the course of his duty at a place in Monkstown on May 23rd, 2021.
The court heard he has a previous conviction for a street assault on a member of the public in 2019. He was also charged and convicted in relation to the assault at the Garda station and received an eight-month sentence.
Silvia-Maria Crowley BL, defending, told the court that her client’s offending in 2021 and before had occurred when he was struggling with addictions to cocaine, crack cocaine, cannabis and alcohol.
She said the father of two has since turned his life around. She said he had brought €2,000 to court as a token of his remorse.
Judge Martin Nolan said Plunkett has a history of violent behaviour and seemed to have an anger management problem at the time of the offending.
He ordered that the €2,000 be handed over to the injured party and that if he didn’t want to receive it, it should be given to a local charity. He said the principal purpose of paying over this money is to punish the defendant.
He imposed a 20 months sentence.
