A man in his sixties who attacked a plain-clothes garda with a baseball bat, claiming the officer did not identify himself when trying to forcibly enter his home, has lost a bid to overturn his conviction.<\/p>\n
In May 2022 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Victor Akinlade (62) was unanimously convicted by a jury of violent disorder, assault causing harm and the production of a baseball bat during the course of a dispute.<\/p>\n
Akinlade was jailed for five years on the violent disorder charge, for four years on the assault causing harm offence and for a further four years for production of the baseball bat used to assault Garda Jonathan Ryan, with all sentences to run concurrently.<\/p>\n
Akinlade had pleaded not guilty to all three charges.<\/p>\n
The trial heard that on May 28, 2018, in the area of Ballyogan Avenue in Carrickmines, Dublin 18, close to Akinlade\u2019s home, two plain-clothes garda\u00ed were on duty in an unmarked patrol car in the area when they observed another male exiting a separate address and decided to search him.<\/p>\n
The court heard that Garda Ryan approached the man on a footpath and identified himself as a Garda and deployed a baton before informing the male that he was to be searched under the Misuse of Drugs Act.<\/p>\n
However, the man ran from Gda Ryan and jumped over a small wall into the home of the appellant with Garda Ryan in chase shouting: \u201cGarda\u00ed, stop, you\u2019re under arrest\u201d.<\/p>\n
Gda Ryan lost his shoe in pursuit but applied force to the door of Mr Akinlade\u2019s home, as a result of which a glass panel on it shattered, the court heard.<\/p>\n
Akinlade had submitted that he had been at the back of his home when he heard a bang and came to the front of his house.<\/p>\n
Gda Ryan gave evidence at the trial that he had persistently identified himself as a plain-clothes Garda and that Mr Akinlade was under arrest.<\/p>\n
Mr Akinlade, when interviewed, claimed he did not know the Garda was an officer because he did not identify himself and that he was dressed in such a way that the appellant thought he was a \u201cjunkie or a Traveller\u201d.<\/p>\n
Gda Ryan went away from the door to retrieve his shoe before Akinlade appeared on the scene with the “metal” baseball bat and struck the Garda on the left shoulder, ear and hand.<\/p>\n
Gda Ryan gave evidence at the trial that Akinlade first came to the door armed with a baseball bat and did not retrieve it at a later stage as the defendant claimed. Gda Ryan said he had persistently identified himself as a plain-clothes Garda and had shouted that Mr Akinlade was under arrest.<\/p>\n
In appealing the conviction, Akinlade submitted that at no point did he know the \u201cunknown person breaking into his house, who smashed the door glass, was a Garda\u201d.<\/p>\n
Akinlade maintained that he never struck Gda Ryan and that his injuries of concussion, a fractured clavicle, bruising to the left arm and a broken finger were \u201cself-inflicted\u201d by first attempting to force the front door open and then tripping over a wall.<\/p>\n
At the trial in front of Judge Patricia Ryan, Akinlade submitted that he had been acting in defence either of another person or of his own property under Section 18 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.<\/p>\n
The Act provides that the use of force by a person does not constitute an offence \u201cif it is reasonable in the circumstances as he or she believes them to be\u201d in protecting a person or their family from injury or to protect property from damage by criminal act or from trespass or infringement.<\/p>\n
In dismissing the appeal against conviction at the Court of Appeal, Ms Justice \u00dana N\u00ed Raifeartaigh said that a Section 18 defence could not be successful if the accused knew the force used was \u201cagainst a member of An Garda S\u00edoch\u00e1na acting in the course of the member\u2019s duty unless he or she believes the force to be immediately necessary to prevent harm to himself, herself or another\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe appellant\u2019s defence was that he saw an unidentified man outside who had just smashed the glass of the door and that he picked up a baseball bat in the garden and wielded it to frighten away the person who he honestly believed to be an intruder,\u201d said Ms Justice N\u00ed Raifeartaigh.<\/p>\n
Ms Justice N\u00ed Raifeartaigh said that the appellant had put this in the context of the Garda not wearing a uniform and that his home had \u201cpreviously been the subject of attacks from random individuals\u201d.<\/p>\n
“The appellant contends the trial judge erred in failing to make a ruling on the legality or otherwise of the entry by Gda Ryan into the appellant’s home. It was the appellant’s position that there was an unlawful entry by Gda Ryan when he went into the appellant’s garden and tried to force his front door,” said Ms Justice N\u00ed Raifeartagh.<\/p>\n
However, Ms Justice N\u00ed Raifeartaigh said the court found the question of the legality of the garda entry to Akinlade’s home far from central to his defence. Akinlade’s defence was that he had picked up the bat but did not assault Gda Ryan. <\/p>\n
Ms Justice N\u00ed Raifeartaigh said the court was \u201csatisfied\u201d that the issue of any illegal entry to Akinlade\u2019s home \u201cplayed a very minor role in the trial\u201d and was a matter for the jury.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo possible injustice could have been caused to the appellant by the defence\u2019s claim that the trial judge failed to make a ruling on whether or not the entry to the home was illegal,” said Ms Justice N\u00ed Raifeartaigh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A man in his sixties who attacked a plain-clothes garda with a baseball bat, claiming the officer did not identify himself when trying to forcibly enter his home, has lost a bid to overturn his conviction.<\/p>\n
In May 2022 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Victor Akinlade (62) was unanimously convicted by a jury of violent disorder, assault causing harm and the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":49879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n