A soldier and his unemployed brother who inflicted €16,000 worth of damage to a nightclub owner’s teeth in an unprovoked assault, had their jail sentences extended but suspended in the Circuit Court this week where it was revealed that three quarters of the €10,000 compensation brought to court by the two was raised by an evangelical congregation in Curraghboy, Co Roscommon attended by the elder sibling.
William (31 ) and Jason Shine (28 ), originally from The Cottage, Curraghboy, but with addresses in Moate and Auburn Terrace, Athlone respectively, set about the owner of Q nightclub, Mr Thomas Conlon, after he ejected the elder brother out a side exit in the early hours of June 21, 2008.
In the District Court in March the brothers were both given eight months in jail for the assault but appealed the severity of their sentences to the Circuit Court this week (July 20 ).
Though no compensation had been offered during the hearing in March, Judge Kennedy was told that the brothers had €10,000 in court this week for their victim, and asked where it came from.
In his evidence, William Shine, a married father of three and private in the Defence Forces for 11 years, told the court that €7,500 of their compensation offer had been collected by the congregation of his fellowship church in Curraghboy for them. He was accompanied to court by his wife and church elders, Mr and Mrs Jarvis, whose statement of support handed in to the court stated Shine was “dependable, reliable, hardworking, and conscientious...attends weekly bible studies and is putting Christian values at the heart of his family and marriage”. The court heard how Shine had attended this church for two years, after being introduced by his wife, and hadn’t drank “since I became a Christian”.
Both brothers had originally been charged with a breach of public order until the DPP re-charged them after seeing a medical report on Mr Conlon which stated he would need nine root canal treatments over the next five years - at a cost of €16,000 - after a loss of a crown, and nerve damage to four front teeth.
“And you say they did this with their fists?” said Judge Anthony Kennedy to defence barrister, Mr Gerald Groarke. Mr Groarke had just successfully argued that, due to a wall obscuring CCTV coverage at the side of the club, Mr Conlon’s statement in which he claimed he was kicked in the face was deemed inadmissable because it could not be independently corroborated.
“This is at the absolute top of the scale for a summary offence,” said Judge Kennedy, and suggested this case could have gone before a jury on account of its seriousness.
He increased the brother’s sentences to 12 months, but suspended them for two years on condition they keep the peace. He ordered the €10,000 be tendered to the victim “or just given straight to his dentist if he chooses not to be tainted by this wretched pair”.
