Longford man who threatened to stab teen in the heart handed three year jail term

Patrick Nevin (27), of 1 Knockloughlin, Ballinalee Road, Longford, appeared before Longford Circuit Court last week, where Judge Keenan Johnson heard evidence of the injured party and his friend being met by the accused who revealed a knife under his trouser leg and alleged that the injured party owed him €50.

In his evidence, Garda John Hanley confirmed to the court that Mr Nevin had a kitchen knife and threatened to stab the injured party if he didn't pay up.

"I'm going to leave you stone dead" and "I'm going to stab you with a knife through the heart" were two threats issued during the course of the interaction, as well as "I was fighting last night and I broke his head; I'm going to do the same to you".

Immediately afterwards, the victim's iPhone was taken and he was told by Mr Nevin that the phone would be returned once he had the money.

Gardaí apprehended the accused approximately two hours later, in a highly intoxicated state and it was four hours before he could be interviewed, the court heard.

When interviewed, he denied any involvement in the robbery, asking "why would I threaten a young fella who's only 15 years of age", but the stolen iPhone was found in his possession.

"This was an extremely serious offence and left the injured party terrified," said Judge Johnson, referring to a brief victim impact statement furnished to the court.

In his victim impact statement, which was read out in court by Gda Hanley, the injured party said he thought Mr Nevin was going to kill him.

"I thought he was going to stab me," he said, stating the accused was "out of his mind on cocaine" at the time of the incident.
He also said he felt "so scared" and still feels "so isolated" that he hasn't been to Longford town in months because "I feel it's too dangerous for me to go there".

Mr Nevin, for his part, said he was "very ashamed" of himself and that "this never should've happened to this young lad". He also said, if the injured party was in the court, he'd "give him a big hug".

"My downfall through the years has been the drink. It gets me into trouble. And I got very fond of the cocaine at that time," he said.

"You have no control over yourself when you're on cocaine," Judge Johnson shot back, "if you're so, so sorry, why in the course of the interview, did you say he told lies?"

Mr Nevin said he "wasn't in the right state of mind" at the time of interview and "I didn't know what I was talking about".

"This wasn't me," he said.

"This was you," Judge Johnson insisted, "you have to accept responsibility when you're intoxicated on drugs and alcohol.

"This is an appalling case. There's no way it won't attract a custodial sentence," he added, remanding the accused in custody overnight ahead of sentencing.

When he passed judgement the following morning, Judge Johnson reiterated that this was "an extremely serious offence".
"It involved the making of a threat, while armed, to an extremely vulnerable individual," he said.

"The courts have to send out a clear message that this type of behaviour will not, under any circumstances, be tolerated."

The judge noted mitigating factors such as an early plea of guilt, an expression of genuine remorse, as well as the accused's efforts at rehabilitation, which included putting his name down for addiction counselling services while in custody.

"The court has been advised that the accused is a member of the travelling community and that he has suffered considerable discrimination and bullying while growing up and in particular while at school," said Judge Johnson.

"While the court deplores any form of discrimination against travellers, who have a very noble culture, it finds it difficult to accept that such discrimination could have contributed to the offending, which is the subject matter of this sentence hearing."

Turning to sentence, Judge Johnson said he was satisfied the offence attracted a headline sentence of seven years, which he mitigated down to five years, backdated to May 1 when Mr Nevin went into custody.

In order to foster and encourage rehabilitation, he suspended the final 24 months for a period of five years subject to a number of conditions, including that he engage with prison addiction services and that he refrain from the consumption of alcohol and illicit substances.