Man not guilty of assault and robbery after two day trial

A man has been found not guilty of committing assault and robbery after a trial in Waterford City. Edward McTighe, a Galway resident, had been charged with assault contrary to Section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act and robbery.

Mr McTighe appeared at Waterford Circuit Court before a jury of nine men and three women and Judge Eugene O'Kelly. He was represented by defence counsel Tom Giles Kelly BL under the instruction of solicitor Hilary Delahunty.  

He was charged after an incident on July 1, 2023 on Barker Street Waterford City. The injured party is a man in late 60's who had visited the house earlier that afternoon with Nadine Falke, who had been living there. Ms Falke confirmed that she was 'seeing' Mr McTighe at the time of the incident. 

Gardaí arrived to the location at around 2.30pm and found an injured man at the scene. The man claimed to Gardaí that he had been attacked, bitten and robbed by Mr McTighe at a house on Barker Street. He claimed that when he arrived to the house the accused was 'messing around with drills' before he started 'raining down blows' on him. He was taken to University Hospital Waterford for treatment. 

The man had been carrying two shopping bags, one containing several beer cans and the other his wallet which carried €850. The man claimed that the money came from social services. He claimed that Mr McTighe stole the money but left a €50 note in the wallet. 

The jury were shown photos of his injuries; bruising on his torso, stomach and arms and a fresh bite-mark on his right arm. Mr Kelly asked the witness when the attacks began after he answered the house. He said: "I felt under threat straight away." The man said it began roughly '5-10 seconds' after he entered, a claim that was challenged. Mr Kelly asked why Mr Tighe would steal €800 but leave behind a €50 note. 

Ms Falke referred in her statement to Gardaí that Mr McTighe had been 'messing around' with the drills but had been doing DIY work around the house. She claimed in front of the jury that people were constantly stopping by the house and 'consuming loads of drugs'. 

Prosecuting barrister Niall Storan BL told the jury that there was evidence of the accused 'acting up with the drills' from witnesses and medical evidence for the injured party. 

Mr Kelly told the jury that his client had been acting in self-defence when the injured party grabbed him. He also questioned the timeline of the injured party, who claimed to have arrived at the property at 12.30, was attacked and called the Gardaí who 'quickly arrived'. The Gardaí arrived nearly two hours after the incident. 

The jury deliberated for just over an hour before returning unanimous non-guilty verdicts on both charges. 

(Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme)