Limerick man serving time for 'unmerciful beating' of cyclist to appeal conviction
A Limerick man serving time for the “unmerciful beating” of a cyclist, who earlier that month had been knocked down and offered compensation by a motorcyclist, must wait to hear the outcome of an appeal against his conviction.
Larry McCarthy (37), with an address at Tower Lodge, Crossgalla, Old Cork Rd in County Limerick had pleaded not guilty at the non-jury Special Criminal Court to assaulting David Foran (33) at Cornmarket Villas on November 25, 2014 as well as threatening to use “unlawful violence” along with two others on the same occasion.
The non-jury Special Criminal Court found McCarthy guilty of both offences and he was sentenced to six years imprisonment by Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy, presiding alongside Judge Gerard Haughton and Judge Gerard Griffin, on July 31, 2017.
The three-judge court heard that Mr Foran was cycling to his mother's house when he was knocked down by a motorcyclist in November 2014.
The motorcyclist later approached Mr Foran, asking him to not go to the gardai and offering compensation. The motorcyclist eventually offered Mr Foran €5,000 and, on the day of the assault, called Mr Foran telling him to go into Limerick town to collect the money from another man.
In a statement, Mr Foran told gardai that he had gone into Limerick city on the day of the assault, had met the man as instructed by the motorcyclist and they both walked to Cornmarket Villas, where there were a "few fellas with their faces covered with scarves".
One of the men said he was Larry McCarthy, according to Mr Foran’s initial statement, and that his face was uncovered. "He was stocky, with red hair, unshaven like me," the victim said.
According to Mr Foran’s initial statement, Larry McCarthy had said to him, "I know you're David Foran, what are you doing demanding money off my cousin?”
He said that Larry McCarthy told him he was "getting no money".
Mr Foran stated that he then got a "slap off a baseball bat into the back of the head” and an "unmerciful beating”. He stated that Larry McCarthy stabbed him in the leg with a knife.
McCarthy moved to appeal his conviction today over the admission of the injured party’s initial statement into evidence under section 16 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.
Section 16 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006 allows for the admission of statements where the witness involved refuses to give evidence, denies making the statement, or gave evidence in court which was inconsistent with the statement sought to be admitted.
Counsel for McCarthy, Barry White SC, said the injured party’s “purported identification” of McCarthy in his initial statement to gardai was the sole evidence against his client in the case.
However, sometime after his initial statement, Mr Foran stated that he wished to formally withdraw the complaint against Larry McCarthy because he only realised who Larry McCarthy was when they both found themselves in court on the same day in separate matters, Mr White said.
Mr White submitted that the three-judge court erred in finding the statement reliable and admitting it into evidence. He said the court did not have sufficient regard to the surrounding circumstances.
There was some "supporting" evidence, in the words of the court. However, anything that could be independently tested showed Mr Foran was not a credible witness, Mr White said.
Mr Justice George Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, said the Court of Appeal would reserve its judgment.
