Men jailed over unprovoked attack on drunk friend

Londonderry Crown Court heard the victim sustained injuries to his face and head

Two men who subjected a drunk friend to an unprovoked and sustained attack in Londonderry city centre have been jailed.

Kieran Kelly, 27, who is from Derry but whose address was given as Maghaberry Prison and Dylan Quaile, 31, who is originally from Co. Fermanagh and whose address was also given as Maghaberry Prison, subjected their victim to "gratuitous degradation", Londonderry Crown Court was told.

The attack took place in Derry's Waterloo Place on 5 September 2024.

On Wednesday, Kelly was sentenced to twenty months in jail while was Quaile jailed for eighteen months.

During sentencing Judge Roseanne McCormick said the victim was "vulnerable due to his level of intoxication".

The court heard minutes before they attacked their victim Kelly and Quaile were recorded on CCTV footage sparring with each other.

They then saw their victim, aged in his thirties, walking into Waterloo Place and subjected him to a sustained assault.

Kelly, who had 35 previous convictions, five of which are for assaults and Quaile, who had 64 previous convictions, nine for assaults, have both been assessed by the probation service as being of high risk of reoffending.

'Feigned a hug'

A prosecution barrister told the court the defendants had subjected their victim to "gratuitous degradation" during the attack which was recorded on city centre CCTV cameras.

The court heard the victim sustained injuries to his face and head "and there was also a hole pierced through the left side of his mouth".

The prosecution barrister said Quaile "also feigned a hug with the victim before landing a significant blow to his face area while Kelly assaulted the victim whilst the victim is prone on the ground".

Judge McCormick said both defendants were either on probation or subject to suspended sentences, or both, for previous offences.

"Both were highly intoxicated and the offending took place in a public area in front of members of the public. The victim was vulnerable due to his level of intoxication but nothing in his conduct should have drawn this assault. It was totally unprovoked," she said.