Man sent to prison for assaulting garda
The defendant hit one of the gardaí with his handcuffs
A CARLOW man who struck a garda, causing a laceration to his head, was last week sent to prison for nine months after he appeared before the local district court.
Judge Geraldine Carthy was told that gardaí were called to the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow on 9 November 2023 because a man, Azzedine Eliman, was causing a disturbance and that when they tried to deal with him, he became aggressive.
Court presenter Sergeant Hud Kelly said the defendant told the gardaí to “f**k off” and that he fought with one of them when they were putting handcuffs on him. Sgt Kelly continued that Mr Eliman hit one of the gardaí with the handcuffs, giving him a 3cm laceration to his head, resulting in the garda having to take time off work.
Mr Eliman (27) of Millrace Green, Burrin Road, Carlow also pleaded guilty to the theft of items from Penneys, Hanover, Carlow on 4 October last year and the theft of a vape from Gala supermarket, Burrin Road, Carlow on 15 March this year. He also pleaded guilty to failing to appear before the court on 3 October 2024.
Solicitor Alex Rafter told Judge Carthy that his client had mental health issues and that he was “extremely remorseful” about assaulting the garda.
Judge Carthy said the aggravating factor in the case was that a garda was assaulted and found that it was serious enough to merit a custodial sentence. She then sentenced Mr Eliman to nine months in prison for that offence while also sentencing him to six months’ imprisonment for the theft at Penneys, but suspended that sentence in total for 18 months. She also ordered him to engage with the Probation Service on his release.
