Man who smeared blood on cell walls refuses to accept court decision

A man in his 20s who refused to accept a court’s verdict to convict him of assaulting a garda and smearing blood over the walls of a cell wall has avoided a custodial prison term.

Bilal Bibi, with an address at Refugee Centre, Clare Lodge, Ennis, County Clare, was convicted of assaulting Garda Chris Hogan at Mullingar Garda Station and committing criminal damage on January 14, 2024.

The 29-year-old was also convicted of public disorder, assaulting another man and obstructing Garda Edel Convey at Dominic Place, Mullingar, County Westmeath on the same date.

Mr Bibi appeared at last Thursday’s District Court sitting before Judge Bernadette Owens for sentencing after fully contesting the three charges at a previous hearing last November.

Defence barrister Andrea Callan, BL, opened proceedings to state her client continued to maintain his innocence in the face of the court decision, in addition to a victim impact statement.

Mr Bibi did not speak and instead listened on with the assistance of an Arabic interpreter as Judge Owens recalled how she had ordered a probation report as the defendant had no previous convictions.

She said the stance of the accused and his reluctance to engage with probation services had narrowed sentencing options open to the court.

“It is a case that, in my view, warrants an immediate custodial sentence,” she said.

Judge Owens said the outlook of the court had been shaped by the “complete failure” on Mr Bibi’s part to acknowledge how gardaí had gone to his aid after he made an attempt to take his own life while in custody.

“There is a consistent theme in the gardaí’s evidence that this man was extremely aggressive and extremely volatile,” she said.

Judge Owens handed down a five-month sentence for the garda obstruction charge and suspended it for 12 months on the basis Mr Bibi made a €750 payment to the garda charity Little Blue Heroes.

A consecutive six-month sentence suspended for 24 months was also issued for the assault on Garda Chris Hogan. The other three charges were taken into consideration.

Recognisances of €250 bond with no cash lodgement required were also fixed in the event of Mr Bibi lodging an appeal to the convictions.