Waterford man found not guilty of assault of '5'4 wrecking machine'
The trial was heard at Waterford Circuit Court.
A Waterford man has been found not guilty of attacking a man with a tyre iron after a two-day trial.
Shane Barrett, of The Walk, Fairfield Park, Waterford city, was charged with one count of assault and production of an article, namely a tyre iron, during the course of an argument.
The trial has held at Waterford Circuit Court before Judge Eugene O'Kelly.
Mr Barrett (35) was represented by defence barrister Gareth Hayden, BL, and Conor O'Doherty, BL, acted as state prosecutor.
Detective Garda Sean Cuddy gave an outline of the incident that occurred on the evening of October 3, 2023.
The jury heard that at around 5pm, the main witness Charlie Power was travelling in a vehicle, an Opel Astra, on Paddy Browne's Road to Ladbrokes bookmakers, along with his friend Brendan Behan. Mr Power alleged that near the Craftsman pub another vehicle, a white Dacia van, pulled up beside him and the accused began shouting at him from inside the passenger seat. Mr Power claimed in his statement that Mr Barrett got out of the van and hit him several times through the open driver's window with a tyre iron.
According to the statement, Mr Barrett took off on foot away from the vehicles, and Mr Power drove after him. CCTV footage showed Mr Barrett running past and a vehicle following in his wake.
Medical evidence from Dr Tadhg Moriarty at University Hospital Waterford (UHW) confirmed that Mr Power attended the Emergency Department that evening with an injured nose. The notes stated that Mr Power had been struck on the face with an iron bar by a "known assailant". He received multiple stitches to his nose. The medical report showed that there was cocaine in his system.
Mr Power gave an official statement to Gardaí on October 6, 2023.
On the witness stand, Mr Power told the court that he had gotten into a "verbal back and forth" with the defendant on the day of the incident. He said that Mr Barrett "pulled out a tyre iron and hit me on the nose". He described getting out of his car but then getting hit again on his arm and leg.
Mr Power told the court that he drove after him in his car: "I told him to stop being a coward with a weapon" and eventually went back in the direction of Larchville. He called Caredoc and later went to UHW.
Mr Hayden told Mr Power that he did not mention the argument between himself and the accused in his statement to Det Garda Cuddy. Mr Power said: "That's correct."
Mr Hayden told the witness that on Paddy Browne's Road, he was "hanging out the window" and shouting threats at Mr Barrett. The witness denied the claim.
Mr Hayden asked if he had ever referred to himself as "the 5'4 wrecking machine", to which Mr Power replied: "Not really, I'm 5'2." When asked for more clarification, he said: "It's a matter of opinion."
Mr Hayden suggested that Mr Power was injured by the van door, not a tyre iron. He rejected the suggestion. An iron bar was never recovered during the investigation of the incident.
Mr Hayden asked the witness if the presence of cocaine in his system was "accurate" in the medical report, to which he replied: "If that's what it said."
Mr Power said it was "possible" that he had used cocaine that day.
Mr Hayden told Mr Power that he failed to mention the cocaine use in his statement to Gardaí. Mr Power retorted: "It's irrelevant."
The jury heard that Mr Power had 47 previous criminal convictions, though Mr Power said that they were mainly for "road traffic and public order".
Mr Hayden highlighted several crimes from the UK, but Mr Power said that he did not commit those crimes. He explained that his brother Paul stole his birth certificate and "goes by" his name in England. At one point, Mr Power said to Mr Hayden: "You're a funny man, trying to slander me."
He later said that he hadn't left Waterford "in 15 years". Witness Brendan Behan told the court that he couldn't recall anything from the day because he was "full of narcotics".
The jury of eight men and four women returned a majority verdict of not guilty for the assault charge, and a unanimous not guilty verdict for the production of an article charge.
