A judge has handed down a ten-year prison sentence to “a prolific, recidivist offender” with 129 previous convictions who broke into a doctor’s home and stabbed him repeatedly during what was described as a “vicious” home invasion.
Mr Justice David Keane said today that the victim’s survival, despite the “extreme and excessive violence” inflicted, was down to luck rather than any restraint on the part of violent criminal Dean Hayes, who has an “entrenched criminal history”, reports Breaking News.
While sentencing Hayes at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Keane said it was “particularly concerning” that the accused had previously burgled and ransacked a neighbouring bungalow in 2009, noting that Hayes has spent 90% of his life in custody.
In a victim impact statement delivered last month, Waleed Mustafa said it was a “miracle” he survived the attack. He described how the first knife broke during the unprovoked assault and how Hayes then went to retrieve another, reports Breaking News.
The Central Criminal Court previously heard that Hayes was armed with a knife when he entered the doctor’s bedroom while he was watching YouTube. Mr Mustafa said he believed his attacker intended to kill him and was seeking revenge for something.
Dean Hayes, 37, of Lee Estate, Island Road, Limerick, had originally been charged with the attempted murder of Waleed Mustafa, 45, at his home in Newcastle, Dublin Road, Castletroy on 20 June 2024, reports Breaking News.
However, when arraigned before the court last October, Hayes pleaded guilty to entering a building as a trespasser and committing an arrestable offence, namely causing serious harm to Mr Mustafa, while in possession of a weapon, specifically a knife.
Hayes also pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious harm to Mr Mustafa during the same incident, reports Breaking News.
Prosecution counsel Ronan Kennedy told the court on Tuesday that the Director of Public Prosecutions was entering a nolle prosequi on the attempted murder charge, meaning the State would not proceed with that count.
Stab wounds, reports Breaking News.
Before passing sentence, Mr Justice Keane noted that the victim sustained multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, upper back, arms, neck, forehead and fingers. He said the treating doctor described the injuries as high risk wounds and said that, “Fortuitously”, there was no damage to internal abdominal organs.
The judge said the victim impact statement clearly outlined the severe psychological harm suffered, reports Breaking News.
He said Mr Mustafa had been diagnosed with hypertension, had become withdrawn, avoided social interaction and now lived with a persistent sense of insecurity, no longer feeling safe in his own home.
Mr Justice Keane said CCTV footage showed Hayes, who was under the influence of intoxicants, had unsuccessfully attempted to enter a neighbouring bungalow before the attack, and that it was “particularly concerning” and an aggravating factor that he had burgled and ransacked that same property in 2009, reports Breaking News.
Addressing the offence of assault causing serious harm, the judge described the attack as “entirely unprovoked, vicious and sustained”, involving multiple lacerations inflicted on the victim.
He said Mr Mustafa was assaulted in his bedroom and suffered a stab wound to the abdomen that exposed fatty tissue beneath the skin, reports Breaking News.
The judge said it remained entirely unclear why Hayes chose to continue the violent assault and obtain a second weapon rather than withdrawing from the scene.
Mr Justice Keane set a headline sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for the offence of assault causing serious harm, reports Breaking News.
In relation to the aggravated burglary charge, the judge said Hayes had entered the victim’s home armed with a knife and used extreme and excessive violence, adding that the appropriate headline sentence was also 15 years.
Mr Justice Keane said the most significant mitigating factor was Hayes’ guilty plea, but noted he was not entitled to credit for previous good character given his 129 prior convictions dating back to 2003, including offences for burglary, theft, aggravated burglary, robbery, assault causing harm and drug possession for sale or supply, reports Breaking News.
The judge said the DPP submitted that some prior convictions were particularly relevant, including the burglary of the neighbouring property in 2009, during which nothing was stolen but the house was completely ransacked.
He said a probation report indicated Hayes had limited recollection of the offence due to heavy intoxication, having consumed vodka and street tablets, reports Breaking News.
Mr Justice Keane said Hayes had been back in the community for less than 12 weeks when he committed these offences, and that a probation report described him as “a prolific, insidious offender” over the past 20 years with a chronic drug addiction that increased impulsivity.
The probation service also assessed Hayes as being at high risk of reoffending within the next 12 months due to his “entrenched criminal history” and long-standing drug and alcohol addiction, reports Breaking News.
The judge said Hayes had spent 90% of his life in custody, initially in juvenile detention and later in prison.
Substance abuse had been a defining feature of Hayes’ life, the judge said, noting that a probation report stated he began using cannabis at the age of nine and experimented with other drugs from the age of 12, reports Breaking News.
Mr Justice Keane said Hayes had declined addiction support and psychological services while in prison and that his past engagement with probation services had been extremely sporadic, meaning he would likely need significant support upon release.
The judge imposed concurrent sentences of 12 years’ imprisonment, with the final two years suspended, for assault causing serious harm and aggravated burglary, subject to Hayes engaging in residential drug treatment and a victim empathy programme. The sentences were backdated to June 2024, reports Breaking News.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.
