A man named Ronnie Wilde, 23 years of age, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years behind bars for the brutal and uninitiated assault on a woman within the premises of St James’s Hospital’s emergency department, and a delivery driver at his Clanbrassil Terrace home in Dublin 8. Both horrific events took place over a span of two days in late September last year. Wilde admitted his guilt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Wilde, who already has significant criminal history with 52 convictions, confessed to another offence— thieving groceries worth £40 from a local shop equipped with an undisclosed weapon on September 1st. According to Officer Colm McCarthy, Wilde may have threatened a shop employee using a knife for the successful heist.
Rebecca Smith, who was prosecuting, was informed of another instance where Wilde, while visiting the hospital, was requested by a woman to hush. Enraged by the request, Wilde ferociously battered her, causing the woman to collapse and suffer from severe facial injuries which were supported by photo evidence in court.
The subsequent day, Wilde launched an unexpected attack on a food delivery driver while he was at Wilde’s house. The driver, who was subject to several punches by Wilde, was rushed to St James’s Hospital for medical care. As soon as the incident was reported, the police were alarmed and Wilde was taken into custody from his residence in a highly inebriated state. He has been in detention since that incident.
Wilde’s defence lawyer details use of narcotics and grapples with paranoia as contributing factors to his violent outbursts during that period. The court was advised that Wilde’s criminal history mostly dates back to his juvenile years. At present, inside the jail walls, Wilde has remained clean and free of drugs.
Upon delivering the verdict, Judge Martin Nolan reproved Wilde for the grievous assaults and noted his ‘serious and long’ list of crimes. The judge initially planned a sentence of five years but altered it to three-and-a-half years considering mitigating circumstances.