Court hears accused used reasonable force to defend himself and friend from ‘punishment beating’

When George Bento pursued a bike thief through Dublin city centre he had only “good intentions” but was met with a “violent and savage” assault that resulted in the death of 16-year-old Josh Dunne, a defence barrister has told the Central Criminal Court.

Padraig Dwyer SC delivered his closing speech to the jury on Wednesday, telling them that his client is an innocent, hard-working man who used reasonable force to defend himself and his friend Guilherme Quieroz from a “punishment beating” inflicted on them because they tried to retrieve a stolen bicycle.

Counsel said that Mr Bento had tried to prevent a crime from being committed and added: “It is a mistake that Irish people would not make because we know the consequences of trying to stop a crime in this city; that you become a victim of crime yourself.”

He said Mr Bento was set upon in a “violent, ugly and unlawful” attack where several people attacked him and his friend and that Mr Bento produced the only thing he could use to defend himself, a knife that he carried for cutting fruit.

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Prosecution counsel Sean Guerin SC said Mr Bento had decided to take the law into his own hands and exaggerated the threat posed by his attackers.

He said that when Mr Bento produced the knife a second time and used it to stab one of the alleged victims, the teenagers were backing away and neither he nor his friend were under attack.

Utility knife

Josh Dunne, who had no involvement in the assault up to then, reacted to seeing his friend being stabbed by using reasonable force in punching Mr Bento to push him away, he said.

Counsel described Josh’s actions as “commendable” but said Mr Bento reacted to Josh’s reasonable response with lethal force that he knew was not necessary to protect himself or his friend. Mr Bento (36), a Brazilian national with an address in East Wall in Dublin 3, is charged with murdering 16-year-old Josh Dunne at East Wall Road, East Wall on January 26th, 2021.

Mr Bento is also accused of producing a utility knife in a manner likely to intimidate another in the course of a dispute or fight. The defendant is further accused of assault causing harm to two other young men on the same occasion.

The delivery cyclist has pleaded not guilty to each of the four counts.

The prosecution alleges that Mr Bento produced a knife during a “stand-off or confrontation” with a man on a moped who had stolen another delivery cyclist’s bike.

Josh Dunne and other youths arrived at the scene and got involved in the confrontation. Mr Dwyer told the jury that the last thing his client wanted when he went to work that evening was the death of Josh Dunne and if he could do anything to bring him back, he would.

He added: “Events combined to create a terrible tragedy, the loss of the life of Josh Dunne. But the ultimate responsibility for that does not lie with George Gonzaga Bento, it lies primarily with the man on the moped but also others who launched a savage and vicious attack on two innocent people going about their work.”

Mr Justice Paul Burns has begun his charge to the jury. He told them that if the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Bento knew he was not using reasonable force in defence of himself or Mr Quieroz, he is guilty of murder. If it is reasonably possible that he used only reasonable force in defence of himself or Mr Quieroz then he is not guilty of murder and should be acquitted on that count.

A manslaughter verdict arises, he said, if the jury is satisfied that Mr Bento sincerely believed he was using reasonable force but actually used more force than was reasonably necessary. Mr Justice Burns will continue his charge to the jury on Thursday.