Drug addict avoids jail over assault on doctor

A former computer programmer who assaulted a doctor and brandished a fake gun in her clinic has been given a suspended sentence after a judge said his behaviour had been "out of character".

John Agnew, aged 48, admitted slapping Dr Marian O’Keeffe twice in the face, pulling her hair and verbally abusing her at a Dublin surgery on August 8, 2013.

Agnew, of Benburb St, Dublin, also pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to producing an air pistol and stealing a prescription from the clinic.

Judge Martin Nolan sentenced him to three years in prison but suspended it in full, taking into account Agnew’s guilty plea, his remorse and his “pretty dismal” physical condition following years of drug abuse.

The judge said Agnew’s misperception that the doctor wasn’t treating him properly was due to the pain he was experiencing and the drugs he was on.

He said Dr O’Keeffe had “in no way” contributed to the incident.