A MAN who joined in with a “mob” that chased a man who was attacked inside a nightclub was given a fully suspended one-year jail sentence.
A jury at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court convicted Jai Chaudri (25), of Carheeny, Kildimo, County Limerick, of violent disorder outside the Icon nightclub on Upper Denmark Street in Limerick City on October 28, 2019.
The jury acquitted Mr Chaudri, who was 18 at the time, of assault causing harm to Cillian McCarthy, of Toureen, Ballysimon, Limerick, who was 20 at the time.
Mr McCarthy suffered a fractured eye-socket and psychological trauma when others attacked him inside the nightclub and when he was chased afterwards outside the club by a group that included Chaudri.
The judge ordered Chaudri to pay Mr McCarthy, general damages of €5,000 without prejudice to any civil proceedings Mr McCarthy may seek to initiate.
Chaudri’s barrister, Pat Whyms, said his client had offered Mr McCarthy the €5,000 compensation “as an acknowledgement of his wrongdoing”.
“He was part of a mob of young men who went after Cillian McCarthy. However, it appears Mr Chaudri was a follower rather than being a leader on the night,” remarked Judge Colin Daly.
Chaudri’s sentencing hearing heard that Mr McCarthy was attacked inside the nightclub by a group that included All-Star Limerick hurler, Kyle Hayes.
Hayes’s trial was held prior to Chaudri’s prosecution. The star hurler was given concurrent suspended sentences of two years, and 18 months, after a jury convicted him of two counts of violent disorder. Hayes was also ordered to pay Mr McCarthy €10,000 in damages.
Hayes, who denied all of the charges, was acquitted by the jury of a charge of assault causing harm to Mr McCarthy.
Prosecuting barrister John O’Sullivan said it was accepted that Chaudri was not in the nightclub on the night and was “not remotely responsible” for the attack on Mr McCarthy inside the nightclub.
Mr O’Sullivan said Mr McCarthy was punched by others, including Kyle Hayes, inside the club, but Chaudri was not part of Hayes group.
Later on, outside the nightclub, Mr McCarthy was knocked to the ground by chased by a mob of men, including Chaudri.
The court heard Chaudri had been out socialising with friends after attending a sports match and he came upon the melee outside the nightclub and joined the mob chasing after Mr McCarthy.
Gardaí arrived and broke up the violence, and Mr McCarthy was taken to hospital and treated for wounds to his right eye and lips and underwent surgery to repair a fractured eye-socket.
Mr O’Sullivan said Chaudri voluntarily presented himself to Gardaí and was arrested four months after the incident.
The prosecuting barrister accepted that Chaudri had been “courteous and cooperative” at all times with investigating Gardaí, but that Chaudri disputed that his behaviour had been criminal and claimed he had tried to break up the melee.
Mr Whyms said Chaudri consumed alcohol on the night and, despite the efforts of a friend who attempted to restrain him from joining the mob, “got drawn towards it and became involved in it, and unwisely he remained involved in it”.
Mr Whyms said Chaudri “accepts the decision of the jury”.
Detective Garda Moylan agreed with Mr Whyms that Chaudri’s behaviour on the night had been out of character, and said he did not expect to see Chaudri before a criminal court again.
Asking the court not to jail Chaudri, Mr Whyms said Chaudri’s conviction alone “could cause him difficulties in securing further (job) positions around the world”.
Judge Daly reduced a headline sentence of 18 months to 12 months, fully suspended for a period of two years, after taking into consideration that Chaudri was immature at the time, inexperienced with alcohol, had no prior convictions, was genuinely remorseful, and that his conviction may pose challenges to further employment prospects.
– Court Reporting Scheme