A homeless couple originally from Latvia have been refused bail after being charged in connection with an alleged glass-bottle assault in Dublin, with a garda telling the District Court that the level of violence involved was “something I haven’t seen in a while”.
Inga Punane (31), of no fixed address, is accused of assault causing harm contrary to section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and of producing a broken glass bottle in a manner likely to intimidate contrary to section 11 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990.
Garda Dylan Higgins objected to bail under section 2 of the Bail Act and the O’Callaghan principles. He told Dún Laoghaire District Court that Ms Punane and her co-accused Vitins Gintars (32) had been socialising with the injured party when a fight broke out and all three ended up on the ground.
It is alleged Ms Punane smashed a glass bottle on the ground and violently assaulted the alleged victim on his legs.
Garda Higgins said two independent witnesses coming home from work saw the incident and recorded high-quality footage on a phone. The court heard they told gardaí they saw Ms Punane on top of the two men – who were fighting – before stabbing the alleged victim in the leg and torso and throwing shards of glass at another man.
Garda Higgins said the injured man was found bleeding with scratch marks and was taken by ambulance to St Vincent’s Hospital. He told the court that the witnesses showed him footage alleged to show Ms Punane smashing the bottle on the ground and on the man’s upper body. He said Ms Punane’s jacket had blood splattered on it when she was arrested at 3.35pm on 30 September and brought to a garda station.
During an interview, Garda Higgins said, the accused admitted stabbing the injured party due to alcohol she had consumed.
Garda Higgins told Judge Conor Fottrell there were no bail conditions that would satisfy him because of the seriousness of the alleged offences, the potential sentence on conviction and the risk of interference with witnesses.
“The level of violence used yesterday is something I haven’t seen in a while,” he said.
The court heard Ms Punane is claiming jobseeker’s allowance and is currently homeless. Her barrister, Sylvia Maria Crowley BL, said her client would abide by strict conditions including twice-daily sign-on, staying away from the area and moving into hostel accommodation.
Judge Fottrell refused bail under section 2 of the Bail Act and the O’Callaghan principles, before remanding Ms Punane in custody to appear again on 8 October. Legal aid and medical attention for alcohol issues were granted.
Mr Gintars, also of no fixed address, is separately charged with assault causing harm to the injured party.
Garda Dominic O’Halloran told the court that Mr Gintars, Ms Punane and the injured party had been drinking together and all slept rough in the area on a regular basis. He said there is clear iPhone footage that allegedly shows Mr Gintars leaving the scene with Ms Punane about 100 metres from the incident and ‘stabbing the injured party in the leg”.
Garda O’Halloran told the court there were “absolutely no conditions” under which he would agree to bail because of the risk of interference with the injured party, who is known to the pair.
Ms Crowley argued Mr Gintars was entitled to the presumption of innocence and was willing to comply with strict bail conditions.
Judge Fottrell again refused bail under section 2 of the Bail Act and the O’Callaghan principles, citing “the severity of the charges, the strength of the evidence and the possibility of interference with the injured party”.
He remanded Mr Gintars in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on 7 October by video link. The judge again granted legal aid and any medical attention for alcohol issues.