Dublin teenager admits serious attack on two gardaí

A Dublin teenager has pleaded guilty to breaking a garda’s jaw after he was stopped for driving illegally.

One garda suffered a broken jaw and his colleague was also seriously assaulted during the incident in Ballyfermot on September 1st last year.

The 17-year-old appeared at the Dublin Children’s Court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing harm. However, he denies charges for driving without a licence or insurance and a separate hearing date has been set for those allegations.

The boy, who was accompanied to court by his parents, made no reply to the charges, the court has been told.

The court heard that when he was initially stopped driving a scrambler motorbike, he punched Garda Daniel Matthewson, who suffered a fractured jaw.

It was alleged the teen fled and Garda Trevor Mallon called to his home where he was head-butted in the face by the youth, who cannot be named because he is a minor.

The youth has no prior criminal convictions, Judge John O'Connor heard. Defence counsel Ann Sheridan told the court that a couple of weeks before the incident, the teen's home had been raided by mistake by armed gardaí and this had an effect on the youth.

Judge O’Connor adjourned the case until a date in September to allow time for a pre-sentence probation report on the boy to be prepared.