Taxi drivers are “very vulnerable” and open to attack while carrying out their business in the city, a concerned District Court judge said this week before sentencing a 20-year-old man to five months-detention for assault.
Judge Mary Fahy made the comments at Galway District Court on Monday after hearing evidence of how Peter McCarthy, who was “out of his mind” on drink, refused to pay a €12 taxi fare and instead launched a vicious attack on the shocked driver by punching him several times. However, the driver managed to restrain his attacker until gardai arrived.
McCarthy, with an address at 17 Gaelcarrig Park, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to threatening and abusive behaviour and assaulting a man at Monivea Park, Ballybane, on April 25, 2010. Charges for being intoxicated in a public place and making off without payment were withdrawn.
Inspector Mick O’Dwyer told the court that at 2.10am gardai received a call to go to Monivea Park where there were reports of a taxi driver being attacked. When gardai arrived at the scene they found the taxi driver holding a male in the front seat of the vehicle. McCarthy then became verbally abusive to gardai, telling them he was going to “break their faces”.
The court heard that McCarthy had refused to pay the taxi fare and then punched the injured party in the neck, head, and face three to four times. The defendant also has five previous convictions including fines for assault, criminal damage, and threatening and abusive behaviour in July 2009.
“This is very serious,” noted Judge Fahy.
Defence solicitor Colin Lynch explained that his client is aware of the seriousness of the charge and that when the statements were read to him “he was appalled and ashamed”. Mr Lynch said that McCarthy has no recollection of the incident.
He added that McCarthy, who is unemployed and married with one child, wished to apologise to the injured party, that the €12 fare had been paid, but that he was not in a position to pay compensation.
“Taxi drivers are very vulnerable and this just shows how vulnerable they are. This man asked the driver to bring him somewhere and then he wouldn’t pay. He actually assaulted him, punched him in the face, to add injury to insult,” said Judge Fahy.
“I listened to a recording of the incident and it is clear that he [McCarthy] was out of his mind [on drink],” replied Mr Lynch.
“He must have a lot of money to get so out of his mind,” replied Judge Fahy, who added that McCarthy had received a fine for assault previously which shows that he has a “propensity for violence”. She warned that the defendant must take steps to deal with this type of violent behaviour. Judge Fahy also said that the defendant had made no effort to come up with compensation.
Leave to appeal was granted.
