Man who assaulted tourist and took off with pensioner's car is jailed

Eimear Dodd

A man who assaulted a tourist and later took off with an elderly man’s car in separate incidents has been jailed for five years.

In separate incidents, Nathan Coakley Hutch (33) took a car belonging to a man in his late 70s, assaulted a tourist and hit a relative with a bike saddle

Coakley Hutch (33) pleaded guilty to assault with intent to cause bodily harm, assault causing harm and the unauthorised taking of a motor vehicle.

He has 109 previous convictions and was on bail at the time of each incident.

Dublin

He is currently serving a sentence and has an earlier release date in May 2028.

On Friday, Coakley Hutch, with an address at Buckingham Street Upper, Dublin 1, was handed a six-and-a-half-year sentence.

Judge Martina Baxter noted he had made efforts to rehabilitate himself and suspended the final 18 months of his sentence.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court previously heard that gardaí were on patrol on Lower Gardiner Street on January 27th 2023, when they saw Coakley Hutch involved in an altercation with another man.

Coakley Hutch hit the other man repeatedly on the head with the saddle of a bike attached to a metal bar.

The injured party, who was unarmed, fell to his knees with blood coming from his forehead. He declined medical treatment, did not wish to speak to gardaí and did not co-operate with the investigation.

After he was cautioned, Coakley Hutch, who was on bail at the time, made it clear to gardai there had been a disagreement, but declined to say any more.

The court was told that Coakley Hutch was under the influence of drugs on the day and the injured party is a third cousin.

In a separate incident on June 17th 2024, gardaí were called to the junction of North Earl Street and O’Connell where eight men had gathered.

Coakley Hutch threw himself down in front of the patrol car and was wiggling, rambling and shouting.

Gardaí observed his pupils were dilated and there was a white substance on his lips. He was arrested for public order offences.

Gardaí then spoke to another of the men, who turned out to be a tourist. He had spent the night in a pub socialising and left around 3am to get some food.

This man saw an incident going on with some of the men he’d been socialising with and while speaking to them, Coakley Hutch approached them, wagging a finger and shouting at one man in the group.

The injured party tried to calm things, then Coakley Hutch said something incoherent to him before headbutting him in the nose.

The injured party managed to stay on his feet but suffered a nosebleed and a headache which persisted for several days. He later went to hospital and was found to have a fractured nasal bone and a mild concussion.

The court was told the victim was very disappointed with his experience in Ireland and was fearful for his safety in the city centre after this incident.

Coakley Hutch was taken to the Garda station, where a doctor was called after it was discovered he’d concealed tablets on his person and taken them while in custody.

Due to concerns for his welfare, Coakley Hutch was released from detention and taken to hospital. CCTV of the incident was played to the court.

In the final incident, a man in his late 70s parked his car in the Summerhill area on June 21st 2025 and went to get a birthday cake for his daughter.

When he got back to the car, he placed his jacket, containing his wallet, phone and other items, and his shopping in the car, then got in.

Coakley Hutch knocked on the passenger window and told him his back tyre was flat. The man got out to check, leaving the keys in the car.

Coakley Hutch got into the car and drove away. He did a U-turn, came back towards the injured party and waved as he drove by. He was identified from CCTV.

The car, which was worth about €28,000, was never recovered. The man also had to replace his car keys and his passport and driving licence.

His phone was recovered, but he’d already bought a new one at that point.

The investigating garda agreed with Keith Spencer, defending, that Coakley Hutch came forward on a signed guilty plea in relation to the unauthorised taking of the car and he has no other matters pending before the courts.

It was further accepted that the injured party’s insurance covered the loss of the car.

The garda also agreed that Coakley Hutch’s addiction issues were exacerbated by threats he faced.

Spencer said his client is apologetic and regretful. Coakley Hutch has a cocaine addiction and used drugs as a coping mechanism due to the threats he faced.

Spencer submitted this was an “almost unique situation” and asked the court to look at the wider context.

His client has made efforts to address his addiction and is engaging with services. Mr Spencer noted his client has been refused entry to several addiction treatment facilities due to the level of security risk involved.

Spencer had asked the court to consider imposing a part-suspended sentence.

Judge Baxter said whilst the injured party, a pensioner whose car was taken, was covered by insurance, his premium had more than doubled from €600 to €1400.

In relation to the assault, the judge noted the injured party had blood pumping from his face. Gardaí observed eight males present behaving in a strange way.

The judge said that Coakley Hutch “clearly got the nationality of the injured party right”, and that knowing that he was English showed “some element of compos mentis”.

Coakley Hutch headbutted the man in the face, causing a fractured nasal bone and mild concussion.

The judge said it “made for disturbing viewing”. The judge said an aggravating factor was that he was on bail at the time.