BY DAVID FORSYTHE
A MAN attacked three other men outside a busy pub after wrongly believing his wife had been insulted, a recent sitting of Macroom District Court was told.
Prosecuting, Sgt Trish O’Sullivan told the court that Aidus Jurgutis (44) of 12 Sunnyside, Barrack Lane, Macroom was out socialising with his wife and others at JC Murphy’s Pub in The Square, after midnight on August 28th, 2022.
The court heard that Mr Jurgutis’ wife had gone outside the pub to look for some friends. She asked three men who were smoking outside the pub if they had seen them and they informed her a group had just left.
The court was told that Mr Jurgutis’ wife had misunderstood what the men had said and perceived incorrectly that she had been insulted. She returned to the pub and informed her husband of the incident.
Mr Jurgutis came out of the pub and began talking to the men at first jovially, but the situation quickly became violent.
Mr Jurgutis asked the men ‘do you want a problem?’ and threw a punch at one before grabbing another by the neck and choking him.
The court was told he then wrestled one man to the ground and punched him in the face.
During the struggle Mr Jurgutis was hit on the head with a pint glass, which the court was told was accidental.
The court was told that Mr Jurgutis had one previous conviction for driving without insurance in 2009.
Defence solicitor Seán Cahill said that his client was originally from Lithuania and had been living in Ireland for the past 19 years. He said that he worked full-time for a local timber company and had been fully co-operative with gardaí.
Mr Cahill said that Mr Jurgutis did not normally socialise and that the events of the night in question were out of character and had arisen through a combination of alcohol and a misunderstanding. He said his client fully accepted responsibility for what happened.
Judge McNulty said that it was a very serious offence. ‘An unprovoked and unjustified assault and an overreaction to something his wife misheard or misconstrued. There was a bit of chat and then it got sour and then it got very violent for no reason.’
Judge McNulty said that because of the gravity of the offence it was his intention to convict Mr Jurgutis and sentence him to six months.
He added that because Mr Jurgutis had no history of violence, was a good worker and had been living in Ireland without major incident for nearly 20 years, the sentence would be suspended as a deterrent.
He said it was also his intention to fine him €1,000. He ordered Mr Jurgutis to appear in court again on March 20th with a solicitor’s cheque for €1,000.
