Man faces jail for assaulting former work colleague's son in pizzeria
A man is facing a jail sentence after being found guilty of head-butting the son of a former work colleague in a pizzeria.
Bantry District Court heard that Lukasz Koc, aged 36, had previously had some form of professional disagreement with the woman and assaulted her son, who had been out socialising and didn’t know Mr Koc.
The defendant, of Apartment 1, Gaelscoil, Main St, Bantry, County Cork, was in the pizza restaurant at around 1.45am on November 17 last when the victim had also entered with friends.
Judge James McNulty heard that Mr Koc approached the 26-year-old and began abusing him verbally in relation to the man’s mother. The court heard that she had worked as a supervisor at a fish factory where Mr
Koc had worked and there had been some form of disagreement between them.
The judge heard that without warning, Mr Koc caught the younger man by his shoulders and then head-butted him in the face.
It resulted in the man requiring seven stitches under his chin and the loss of half a tooth which was cracked off by the force of the blow. The man ultimately required root canal treatment costing €1,000.
The court was told that Mr Koc had no previous convictions but had received an adult caution for an assault earlier last year.
Mr Koc’s solicitor, Flor Murphy, said his client raised €1,000 for the man’s dental treatment and wrote a letter of apology.
Mr Koc is a separated father-of-three and has since found work in Cork.
Judge McNulty said the case was at the high end of public order offending and a “serious assault on an innocent man out enjoying himself”.
He said the €1,000 already raised by Mr Koc was only reparation and that the same amount again would need to be considered as compensation. He convicted Mr Koc and deferred penalty until April 11 while remanding him in custody until then with an indication that a custodial sentence is likely.
