A Dublin man whose vicious assault has left another man in a permanent state of vegetation was jailed for seven years by Judge Elizabeth Dunne at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Patrick Logan (19), Croftwood Drive, Ballyfermot, pleaded guilty to assault causing serious harm to Mr James Doyle (29), Spiddal Park, on September 17th, 1999.
Det Sgt Gabriel O'Gara said Mr Doyle was taken to St James's Hospital, where he was described as being in a state of vegetation. He was still there and had to be fed intravenously. He was institutionalised for life.
Det Sgt O'Gara told Ms Isobel Kennedy, prosecuting, the incident occurred early in the morning when Logan and a friend were walking home after a night out and encountered Mr Doyle, who was very drunk. Mr Doyle hurled abuse at them and followed them before he hit Logan after an exchange of words. Logan retaliated and struck Mr Doyle in the face.
Det Sgt O'Gara said Logan pulled a wooden plank from behind his back and hit Mr Doyle around the head. His friend tried to pull him away but Logan had lost control of the situation. When they realised the seriousness of Mr Doyle's injuries, they began to retreat, but a football injury impeded Logan.
Det Sgt O'Gara said the two men put themselves forward as witnesses to the gardai, stating they had seen three men run from the scene. Four days later Logan was arrested and taken to Ronanstown Garda station where he made a second statement admitting his involvement.
Judge Dunne said she must give credit for the way Logan faced up to his responsibilities. However the court took a serious view on offences of this nature. "Bearing in mind all the circumstances, a sentence of 10 years would be appropriate but taking into account all the mitigating factors, I am going to impose a term of seven years."