Three month-sentence for man who skipped queue and punched woman
A CUSTOMER who skipped a Clondalkin post office queue, punched a woman in the face and threatened to kill her after she called him a “knacker” has been given a three-month sentence.
Simon O’Donnell also punched and threatened the victim’s husband who came to her aid during the incident.
Blanchardstown District Court
Blanchardstown District Court heard while the victim did use the “derogatory” term, she did not mean it as a reference to the fact that O’Donnell was a member of the Travelling community.
Judge Gerard Jones imposed sentence after reading a victim impact report that he described as “distressing.”
The accused, aged 28, with an address at Tor an Ri Lane, Lucan, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm to the woman, simple assault on her husband, public intoxication and engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.
The offences all took place at Centra, Neilstown Shopping Centre on October 21, 2020.
Evidence was heard previously, when Garda Thomas Barrett said O’Donnell attended the shop while intoxicated and skipped the post office line.
There was an argument with the woman he skipped and he called her a “f**king prostitute” before telling her, “you are dead, you are f**king dead”.
Garda Barrett said the woman’s husband came over and O’Donnell threatened to kill them.
“He said ‘yous two are dead, if I don’t get you in here I’ll get you in the car park,’” Garda Barrett told the court.
O’Donnell struck the woman twice with a closed fist, knocking her to the ground and when her husband went to her aid, he was struck once by the accused.
An ambulance was called and brought the woman to hospital, where she was found to have sustained bruising.
The accused made full admissions when arrested and questioned by gardai.
O’Donnell had previous convictions for public order and other charges.
His solicitor Simon Fleming said it was an incident that “shouldn’t have happened”.
The victim made “a derogatory remark relating to his heritage as a member of the Travelling community” before the assault happened, he said.
Garda Barrett said the woman accepted she used the term “knacker”, but she was calling him a scumbag and did not use it to mean Traveller. The accused had been still intoxicated from drinking the night before when he went to the shop, Mr Fleming said.
He believed there was a slur about his heritage when he reacted the way he did.
The accused could not go back in time and take back the wrong he had done, but apologised, Mr Fleming added.
The judge imposed a three month sentence.
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