Ballinagh man jailed for disco assault on Polish National

A young man who was described by Judge Patrick Clyne as an unreconstructed bully was sentenced to six months imprisonment when he was convicted of assault at Cavan District Court. Joseph Lee, Carrigan, Bruskey, Ballinagh, was given the prison sentence for assaulting Przonyslaw Karol Brozdowicz at a disco in the Farnham Arms Hotel on the morning of Friday, October 12, 2007. The court heard that Mr. Brozdowicz suffered the loss of his two teeth and had his nose injured when he was struck by the defendant in an incident, which the Judge held was premeditated. Przonyslaw Karol Drozowicz, speaking through an interpreter, informed the court that he and his girlfriend went to a disco in the Farnham Arms Hotel nite club. While they were dancing a number of other girls came and pushed his girlfriend. Witness and his girlfriend switched places but one of the girls tried to punch his girlfriend. He moved his girlfriend behind him to try and protect her but the pushing continued and they moved to another part of the dance floor to get away from the others. There was a change then to slow music and he and his girlfriend started to dance close to each other. During this period some person pushed between him and his girlfriend and he was punched on the nose. After that everything happened very fast. He later recognised the person who punched him on the cctv footage. After he received the blow he was lying on the floor; a male friend came over to him and the security men took him to the toilet. He lost two teeth and his mouth and nose were injured in the assault. He was in very great shock and next morning when he woke up he was in great pain. He went to the Garda station and made a statement. He didn"t have any dealings with the person who assaulted him and hadn"t been speaking to him beforehand. Attended birthday party Cross-examined by Mr. Larry Burke, solicitor, defending, Witness said that he and his girlfriend attended a birthday party in a friend"s house before they went to the disco in the Farnham Hotel. He had one, maybe two drinks at the birthday party. Mr. Burke suggested to Witness that he wouldn"t go to the bother of buying a bottle of Vodka and then just have two drinks. Witness replied that this was all the drink that he had consumed at the party. He denied Mr. Burke"s suggestion that the birthday party was a drinking session. Mr. Burke put it to Witness that one of the other girls would claim that he was 'dancing crazily' and that he had slapped her in the face. Witness denied this and that he bumped into the other girls. Mr. Burke: Mr. Lee will say that he was standing along the side, beside the dance floor, when he saw Michael McKenna get a wallop from you into the face? Witness: That is not true. Mr. Burke: That is why he intervened. Witness: I never hit anyone; never in my life. The girlfriend of the previous witness corroborated his evidence. Clare Sweeney said that on Friday, October 12, 2007, she was at Megan McKenna"s 18th birthday celebrations in An Sibin. Witness and others then went across to the Farnham Hotel disco. They were on the dance floor dancing when the two previous witnesses started pushing into them. Witness was pregnant at the time and she pushed them back to get them away from her. They started pushing Megan as well. Megan pushed the gentleman back and he then pushed her aggressively. She went flying but she didn"t fall. Witness went to Megan to see if she was okay and she next remembered seeing the bouncers and Mr Drozowicz and Joey go off in separate directions. Megan McKenna corroborated this evidence and also claimed that she got a wallop in the face from Mr. Drozowicz. She also told the court that Joey struck the fellow who had hit her. Observed disturbance A member of the security staff on duty at the disco stated in evidence that he observed a disturbance at around 1.30am or 1.45am. When he got through the crowd he observed a group in the middle of the floor. Mr. Lee was slightly aggressive and he pushed him back. Mr. Lee continued to push against his hand and he decided to remove him from the premises. Witness said that he was also qualified in occupational first aid and when he got a call on the radio that there was a gentleman injured in the toilet he got the first aid kit and went there. He said that the man seemed aggressive and didn"t allow him to administer first aid. Witness left at that stage. Brought injured man to hospital Sergeant William Carey stated that on Saturday, October 13, he was on duty at Cavan Garda station when a person called whom he now knew to be the injured party. The man reported that he had been assaulted in the Farnham Arms Hotel earlier that morning by a male person who struck him a blow to the mouth. The man had two front teeth missing and had a nose injury. The sergeant brought him to Cavan General Hospital for treatment. Witness also contacted the Farnham Hotel and requested CCTV footage covering the time concerned. Sgt. Carey said that on December 16 in the presence of an interpreter he took a statement from the complainant and also from his girlfriend. He studied the cctv footage but it wasn"t very clear. Witness said that he established that the person who was ejected from the disco was Joseph Lee, Carrigan, Ballinagh. He subsequently interviewed Joe Lee at his home under caution. Mr. Lee was inside the house and witness was outside. The defendant said 'you are not coming inside the f...ing house' and the interview was conducted in uncomfortable circumstances. Mr. Lee admitted hitting Mr. Drozowicz but said he hit him on the jaw and not in the mouth. 'I hit him because he hit my girlfriend, wouldn"t you do the same', said the defendant, according to Sgt. Carey. Judgment Judge Clyne said that the defendant did not act in self defence and what he did on the occasion was, therefore, premeditated. When he indicated that he was convicting the defendant for assault and asked if Lee had any previous convictions the Inspector replied that Lee had 28 previous convictions mainly for Public Order but also for assault. He had previously served two months imprisonment, he said. Seeking the mercy of the court, Mr. Burke submitted that his client was still a young man of 22. There was a time when he came before the courts on a regular basis and during his time in prison he obtained qualifications. He didn"t usually come into court to contest a case but felt he had to do so on this occasion. Judge Clyne said that Mr. Lee was an unrecontructed bully. He sentenced him to six months imprisonment and fixed recognisances in the event of appeal.