Man (27) jailed after vicious assault of woman and 'suicide mission' carjacking
Father-of-four Dylan Poynton, 27, pleaded guilty at Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court to assault causing harm to another man at an apartment in River Village Athlone, Co. Westmeath on October 13th, 2022.
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The court heard on Wednesday that Poynton was highly intoxicated in his partner's home and attacked the man by striking him with a bottle.
He followed up by kicking him in the head, "stamping on his face" as he was defenceless. The victim suffered a fractured skull and needed urgent medical attention, but made a full recovery.
Poynton had also admitted violently hijacking a woman's car, dangerous driving and criminal damage on November 14th last year, while out on bail for the earlier assault.
The violent car seizure, described as a "suicide mission", was carried out by Poynton and his accomplice, 21-year-old David Marshall from Newtown Lawns, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath.
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Marshall, a father of two, was handed a seven-year sentence in April.
The jobless duo, who never worked consistently and have had drink and drug problems since their early teens, had been "off their heads" at the time,
Detective Garda Conor Murphy told the court that the victim had driven into a car park near Athlone rail station just after 7 am to get a train to Dublin for work.
However, two men in balaclava masks opened the front doors of her Nissan Micra, shouting, "Get out".
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Poynton grabbed her and pulled her out, screaming. She tried to get the car keys but was pushed and fell to the ground. She has suffered anxiety, panic attacks, depression and PTSD since then, attends counselling and was at a loss of €6,500.
Poynton's 24 prior convictions included drugs and assault offences as well as dangerous driving, and he had a two-year road ban already.
In tears, the victim opened up in court and revealed how she held down two jobs and had bought the car and a house, but she no longer drives in the dark and has lost her independence.
The pair took turns driving her car and filmed each other for a series of Snapchat posts, laughing and jeering while blaring music as they sped along the M4 to Dublin.
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One video played in court showed the driver holding a beer bottle, and another clip focused on the speedometer at 160km/h.
The Micra crashed into the wall of a house in Lucan, Co. Dublin, causing €2500 damage to the property. Judge Johnson branded the pair's actions as despicable and said the footage showed a rampage and the worst incidents of dangerous driving he had ever seen.
The two men seemed as if they were on a "suicide mission", and it was a miracle they did not cause carnage during the drive, he remarked.
Their phones were found in the car, and gardaí later unlocked them to recover their Snapchat videos.
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Andrew Callan BL told the sentence hearing on Tuesday that Poynton began abusing cannabis from the age of 11 and then moved onto ecstasy and cocaine addiction while working occasionally in a family business providing marquees. However, he was welcome to return to living with his mother and working with his father upon release.
On Wednesday, Judge Johnson imposed consecutive three and seven-year sentences but suspended the final 18 months.
Judge Johnson warned Poynton, who showed no emotion during the hearing, that, following his release, he must refrain from using alcohol and illicit drugs, remain on supervised probation, engage in addiction treatment and not reoffend for five years.
Otherwise, the suspended portion of the sentence would be activated.
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