A man who pursued his housemate with a six inch long kitchen knife was sentenced to three years with the final year suspended at the Galway Circuit Criminal Court last week.
Marius Gora (33 ) with an address given as 242 Tirellan Heights, had pleaded guilty at his arraignment to assaulting Marcus Lova causing him harm at Headford Road, on July 14, 2008.
According to Garda evidence a call was received at 1.10am and when gardai went to 242 Tirellan Heights they met with Gora’s partner who said that an altercation had taken place and that she had requested the assistance of a housemate. Mr Lova came to her aid and argued with the accused. Gora then got a knife and stabbed Mr Lova once. Gardai found Mr Lova on all fours on the floor of an upstairs bedroom which was covered in a substantial amount of blood.
Gora was searched at the scene and a knife was found to be in his possession. The court heard that the knife used was a standard kitchen knife approximately six inches long. Gora, a Polish national, had consumed a substantial amount of alcohol and had demanded to have the car keys so that he could get some more drink. However, his partner refused to hand over the keys.
The injured party, Mr Lova, received a stab wound to the right hand side of the chest which resulted in a collapsed lung as well as damage to the liver. The court heard that Mr Lova, who was discharged from the high dependency unit the following day, was in severe pain for three weeks, had lost wages, and has since moved back home to Latvia. Mr Lova, who is now in good health, said in his victim impact statement that he wanted Gora to “take responsibility for his crime”.
Defence barrister, Geri Silke BL, said that her client, who was unemployed at the time, had consumed two bottles of whiskey and that his girlfriend had not wanted him to sleep in the house. Ms Silke said that Gora had asked for the keys so that he could sleep in the car. Gora has since paid for Mr Lova’s medical expences and for two week’s wages. Ms Silke said that he also had €600 in court to offer as compensation.
“He pursued [Mr Lova] with diligence and with the intention to strike with a knife. I have to be concerned with the degree of violence used,” said Judge Raymond Groarke before imposing a three year sentence with the final year suspended.
