Two men have appeared before Dublin District Court accused of carrying out a serious assault on a man in Temple Bar during the early hours of Wednesday morning last week.
The attack was characterised as a “truly vicious, violent and unprovoked” assault in which the victim was left for dead and remains in hospital fighting for his life, reports RTE.
Leonel Ricci, 28, an Argentinian MMA fighter who had been staying at a hostel in Dublin, and Dominic Smith, 36, of Hunter’s Green, Pollerton, Carlow, were remanded in custody after bail applications were heard at Dublin District Court.
Both men face charges of assault causing harm to the man at Cope Street in Temple Bar on 18 February, and the court was told the injured party remains in a critical condition at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, reports RTE.
The man’s facial injuries were so extensive that relatives were only able to identify him after gardaà released an image of a distinctive tattoo on his arm.
Detective Garda Gráinne Collier said gardaà would be strongly recommending to the Director of Public Prosecutions that the case proceed to trial before a jury at the Circuit Criminal Court. She added that investigators may also seek to pursue additional, more serious charges against the pair, reports RTE.
Gardaà stated that two men, believed to be Mr Ricci and Mr Smith, were captured on CCTV walking from Liffey Street in Dublin towards Cope Street in Temple Bar.
The victim was seen arriving in the area on an e-scooter three minutes afterwards. Garda Collier said there was no interaction with the two alleged attackers and nothing to suggest the victim knew them, reports RTE.
She described the incident as a completely random assault. She said there was a short exchange before the two men walked away, returning shortly afterwards when another verbal interaction took place.
Following this, Garda Collier alleged CCTV footage showed Mr Ricci striking the victim several times to the face and head. She claimed the man was knocked to the ground, restrained by Mr Ricci and repeatedly punched in the head and body. She further alleged that the second attacker, identified as Dominic Smith, then struck the victim multiple times to the head, reports RTE.
She said the victim became lifeless, and Mr Ricci continued to punch him and then stamped on his face three times, before kicking him “football style” in his head and stamping him again, reports RTE.
The two men then walked away, leaving the victim unconscious. However, she said Mr Ricci returned, picked up the e-scooter and “smashed it down on the victim’s face,” reports RTE. Garda Collier alleged Mr Ricci came back once more, removed the man’s shoes and threw them aside before forcefully snapping back his right arm, breaking it.
She said he then searched through the victim’s pockets before the pair walked off and attempted to enter a nearby pub. The garda told the court the assault lasted approximately five and a half minutes, reports RTE.
The injured man was initially brought to hospital and later transferred to Beaumont Hospital, where he remains in critical condition, although the court heard there have been slight improvements in recent days.
Mr Ricci and Mr Smith were arrested in Smithfield, Dublin, the following day after gardaà who believed they matched descriptions of the suspects spotted them.
The court heard that Leonel Ricci described himself as a professional MMA fighter from Argentina. He arrived in Ireland in November and had been financially supported by family members in Italy. It was stated that his “lifelong ambition” was to become a garda, reports RTE.
He told gardaà he believed the injured man was a drug dealer and said he used his MMA training because dealers were killing people every day. He said he had travelled to Ireland because his father was Irish and he hoped to secure a work visa so he could work and fund his MMA training.
Garda Michael Moore told the court that the second attacker, alleged to be Dominic Smith, approached the victim aggressively before Mr Ricci lunged at him. He alleged the second man delivered four forceful kicks to the victim’s head and was heard shouting at him while he lay unconscious on the ground, reports RTE.
The court heard Mr Smith described himself as an alcoholic and said he could black out for days at a time. He told gardaà he was a qualified chef who travelled across Europe for employment.
Garda Moore agreed with defence barrister Luke O’Higgins that when Mr Smith was shown video footage of the incident after his arrest, he appeared shocked and distressed, reports RTE.
Mr O’Higgins said that while there was no disputing the seriousness of the incident, there was no justification for refusing his client bail.
However, Judge Máire Conneely denied bail to both men and they are due to appear before the court again on Friday, reports RTE.
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