Arrest warrant for man found guilty of street attack

A vicious, unprovoked assault was inflicted on a man walking home through Cork City centre at 9.30pm on October 4.

Yesterday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of the attacker.

Curtis Keniry, aged 20, of Gateway House, 34 Leitrim St, Cork, was convicted in his absence yesterday at Cork District Court on a charge of assaulting John Lynch.

He failed to show up for the case against him and Judge Marie Keane issued a warrant, wanting him before the court for sentencing.

“The State has proved its case,” Judge Keane said. “This was a vicious unprovoked attack on an innocent man walking on Patrick St at 9.30pmm on a Sunday. For no reason whatsoever, Mr Keniry began to engage in provocative behaviour culminating in a vicious assault. I am satisfied it would have been a very frightening incident for Mr Lynch.”

Eyewitness Jim Faulkner said he was standing on the corner of St Patrick’s St and Grand Parade that night when he heard a man shouting at another: “Get away from me, leave me alone.”

“He beats him around the head, he [the injured party] drops to the ground,” Mr Faulkner told Inspector Finbarr O’Sullivan.

“I heard a crack. I felt the vibration of his head hitting the ground come up through my shoes. The gentleman doing the assaulting never saw the guard coming. He just kept laying into the guy.”

CCTV evidence shown in court yesterday showed Mr Lynch walking backwards to avoid another man walking directly at him. Mr Lynch initially tried to fend off blows before turning to run. The victim said that when the incident continued out of sight of the CCTV camera, he was knocked to the ground.

He testified that he did not know the attacker, had never seen him before the incident, and had not see him since.