A 21-year-old man has been remanded in custody after he was charged in connection with an iron bar attack which has left a 25-year-old man in a critical condition with head injuries.
Olumatemilorun Jimoh, a Nigerian national, was brought before Cork District Court on Friday morning where he was charged with two offences arising from an attack on his housemate, Denis Mandic.
Mr Mandic, a Croatian national, suffered serious head injuries and is in a critical condition at Cork University Hospital where he remains in an induced coma in the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Mr Jimoh was charged with assault causing serious harm to Mr Mandic at a house on Blarney Street in Cork on Thursday contrary to Section 4 of the Non Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.
He was also charged with possession of an offensive weapon, namely an iron bar, contrary to Section 9 of the Offensive Weapons Act on Blarney Street at 1.40am on the same date.
Det Garda Aidan Forrest gave evidence of arrest, charge and caution and told the court that Mr Jimoh made no reply to either charge after they were put to him after caution.
Insp Billy Dwane said gardaí were seeking a remand in custody. Mr Jimoh’s solicitor, John Hussey said his client was applying for bail and for free legal aid as he was unemployed.
Det Garda Forrest said gardaí were objecting to bail because of the seriousness of both charges and the belief Mr Jimoh would abscond and not stand trial if granted bail.
He said gardaí were also objecting to bail on the grounds that they believed Mr Jimoh would interfere with witnesses including one man who witnessed the alleged assault.
He said gardaí found that man’s name on a list of ten names at Mr Jimoh’s house and he alleged that Mr Jimoh told gardaí they were the names of people he intended to kill.
Mr Jimoh took the stand and initially told Mr Hussey that he would not turn up in court if granted bail but then told Insp Dwane that he would attend court again if the judge ordered him to do so.
Asked by Insp Dwane about the list of names found and whether he intended to kill them, Mr Jimoh said: “That was just a crazy moment list of people that I might take out of existence.”
Judge Leo Malone refused bail and remanded Mr Jimoh in custody to appear again in court on February 2nd and he ordered that he be psychiatrically assessed while on remand.
