A MAN who left a car clamper with severe neurological damage after he struck his head with a lump hammer has been sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Gheorghe Pista was clamping Gerard Sweeney’s girlfriend’s car when Sweeney approached him shouting and swearing that he was not going to pay the fine.
He then went to the boot of the car, took out a lump hammer, came back to the front of the vehicle where Mr Pista and his colleague were, and struck him on the left side of his head, causing serious injury.
Sweeney (25), with addresses at St Mark’s Avenue and High Grove, Mount Talbot, both in Clondalkin, Dublin, pleaded guilty to intentionally or recklessly causing serious harm to Mr Pista (38) in Werburgh Street, Dublin, on October 14th, 2009.
He has 30 previous convictions and Sgt Paul Costelloe told the court that Sweeney is known to the local gardaí in Clondalkin.
Judge Martin Nolan said the facts of the case were “simple and tragic”.
“In a fit of temper he took out a lump hammer and struck the victim on the head,” he said.
He said the “profound injuries” the “unfortunate” Mr Pista suffered were inevitable.
“I have used such a tool in the past and today I weighed it in my hand [when it was presented as an exhibit in the hearing] to reacquaint myself with it. It is an incredibly heavy hammer used in the building industry for crushing stones and splitting bricks. Apply that to any part of the body and it seems inevitable serious injuries would be expected,” Judge Nolan said.
The judge suspended the final three years of the 10-year jail sentence. The court was told the defendant had €19,000 in court but Mr Pista’s family refused to accept it.
Mr Pista sustained a fractured skull and later had to have a metal plate inserted.
He was in a coma for seven weeks and a medical report before the court stated that he is now profoundly disabled.
He can only speak a few words and needs assistance to walk. He requires 24-hour care, which is provided by his sister and her partner.
Mr Pista’s elderly parents and 10-year-old daughter live in his native country of Romania and he has seen very little of them since the attack.
Mr Pista’s cousin, Dana, read a victim impact statement on behalf of the family, which had been prepared by Gheorghe’s sister.
She said that her cousin has gone from “being a strong man to being a fragile child”.
“He can’t eat alone, shower alone, dress alone, he can barely walk. Today he is not even able to hug his little girl,” Ms Pista said.“We hope that justice will be done today in this horrible case.” She said Mr Pista will always require 24-hour care.