CCTV showed vicious attack on young off-licence cashier

TWO CAVAN men have been jailed for their part in the robbery of a local off-licence and the assault on its young shop assistant who at one point thought he might lose his eye.

Cavan Circuit Court was shown CCTV footage of the vicious and prolonged attack on the cashier. The video also clearly showed Paul Morris and James McDermott help themselves to several bottles of alcohol and cash from the till at McGinnity’s Off-Licence on Coleman Road, Cavan, on March 1 last.

Morris and McDermott were taken from custody in Castlerea Prison to be sentenced last week.

They had both admitted assault, robbery and criminal damage when they were arrested and taken into custody on the same day of their crimes. Both had their applications for bail refused by both Cavan District Court and the High Court.

Judge John Aylmer sentenced Paul Morris (36) with an address at Cluain Aoibhinn, Swellan, to five and a half years in prison and James McDermot (37) with an address at John Paul Avenue to seven years in jail.

At the pair’s earlier arraignment hearing, when they pleaded guilty, prosecuting barrister Monica Lawlor took the court through the details of their crime spree beginning with the men getting a taxi from Park View on March 1 and getting the unsuspecting driver to wait while they went in to McGinnity’s to carry out their attack.

The camera footage supported a statement from their victim, who said McDermott and Morris had been in the store earlier when they bought a bottle of Corona beer.

During that visit to the off-sales, McDermott could be seen on camera taking two cans of Four Loko.

Talking the court through the CCTV footage, Detective Garda Joanne Gethins said she could positively identify the two accused as McDermott and Morris in the video, which showed them come back to the shop just after 5pm.

They proceeded to go behind the counter punching and kicking the shop worker and ordering him to open the till. The 27-year-old worker knew Paul Morris and recognised him because he has a distinctive gait from a disability, his statement explained.

The men ordered the employee to open the tlll, even though it was already opened. He estimates James McDermott took between €3-400 of cash from the register.

Reading from the employee’s statement, Monica Lawlor said the shop worker shouted: “'Hi, Morris what the f**k are you at?’ and the men shouted at him not to say their names out loud”.

Paul Morris had hold of him and the witness said: “The second fella came out of nowhere and hit me with a bottle.”

The courtroom could see events play out as the victim described in his statement. The footage also showed blood streaming from his left eye after he was struck with the bottle by McDermott. The shop worker was also holding and attempting to nurse the little finger on his right hand in between punches.

“They were very aggressive and shouted at me that they were going to stab me,” the victim’s statement read. “I tried to get over the counter, but they pulled me back. I was really frightened, I thought I’d lost my eye.”

He went on to describe how he was hit six or seven times all over his body with the bottle and punches.

He said McDermott was more aggressive than Morris, which was also evident from the footage played.

The attack ended when McDermott and Morris demanded to know where the shop’s camera control box was, and the shop assistant showed them through to an office where they ripped out cabling to disable the CCTV system.

The pair were then viewed getting into a taxi carrying a stolen bottle of WKD and cans of beer.

Prosecuting barrister Monica Lawlor then explained how, later that evening, the Garda Armed Support Unit went to McDermott’s house at John Paul Avenue and arrested him.

Gda Gethins said, when officers arrived, McDermott had slurred speech and appeared intoxicated. He also had €315 cash on his person, which he couldn’t account for. The detective also explained how John Paul Avenue backs on to Park View.

When he was arrested and interviewed at Cavan Garda Station, Paul Morris said he couldn’t remember the events and that he had taken 10 Tranax tablets, the street version of the benzodiazepine, Zanax, as well as alcohol throughout the day.

When he was shown the CCTV, Gda Gethins said Morris said: “I wish I could remember and be able to explain but I can’t. It was a bad act. I’d like to apologise to that lad. He was only doing his job.”

The detective said there was nothing of value from McDermott and Morris’ garda interviews.

The judge viewed photographs of the employee’s injuries, which included a “deep laceration” on the left eye that required two stiches, clinical dislocation of his little finger, cuts to his left arm and left side of head and a swollen wrist.

His victim impact statement read to the court describes how he bears “mental and physical scars”.

The statement had to be typed because the shop assistant can no longer write with his right hand like he used to because he can’t bend his little finger fully or make a fist with the injured hand. He said whether he will ever be able to play his beloved gaelic football again is now “doubtful” after the assault on him.

Judge John Aylmer was told Paul Morris has 67 previous convictions including 21 for assault, over half of which were of the more serious nature, two for burglary, five for theft and two for possessing a knife.

James McDermott has 51 previous convictions including five for burglary, four for theft, three assault convictions and one for the possession of a knife.

McDermott was originally charged with four offences connected to the McGinnity’s burglary including damaging property, the theft of alcohol, robbing cash and the assault on the staff member.

Paul Morris was charged with robbing cash, assaulting the shop assistant, and damaging property.

Both signed guilty pleas to the charges.

When sentencing the pair, Judge Aylmer explained McDermott’s extra charge for theft has been taken into consideration. In the case of Paul Morris, the Judge said: “The offence of robbery subsumes the offence of criminal damage, which I consider to be quite incidental.”

Judge Aylmer said he placed the charges against them on the upper end of the mid-range for that type of offending, before mitigation.

The judge gave both men “considerable credit” for their signed pleas, which he said was of particular value to the court because it shows they “committed” their guilt in writing.

And he said, although they were “caught red-handed”, Paul Morris was co-operative with gardaí.

He told Morris: “You led the charge into the shop but, it’s in your favour how you went to restrain your co-accused.”

He gave McDerrmott credit for using his time in custody well and abstaining from all intoxicants.

After hearing mitigating factors from the men’s defence barristers, James McDermott had a sentence of 11 years in prison reduced to seven years and Paul Morris received a five and a half year prison sentence.

Both were returned to Castlerea Prison and given credit for time already served.