A man who robbed and repeatedly kicked a man in wheelchair as he lay on the floor has been given a six-and-a-half year prison sentence.
Brian O’Hagan, 27, from Beragh Hill Road, Derry, punched and kicked his victim in the face during the robbery on 24 October 2018, reports BBC.
The man, who has spina bifida and epilepsy and uses a wheelchair, suffered a fractured eye socket.
O’Hagan, who admitted robbery, will serve half the sentence on the licence. Sentencing at Londonderry Crown Court, Judge Philip Babington described the robbery as “an appalling incident perpetrated on a person living with disability alone.”
The court heard the victim told police two men had come to his flat door, stating they were from the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) and claiming to have a gun.
They knocked the victim’s wheelchair over before kicking and punching him, the court heard.
The men demanded money and his bank card, which he refused to hand over.
The court was told O’Hagan kicked his victim several times in the face and body during the robbery and said he was from the IRA. At the time, a woman in the victim’s home told the man to “let them do what they want if they do what they want, they won’t hurt you.”
He later managed to call the police, and O’Hagan was arrested fleeing the scene.
The victim’s mobile phone and money during a search of the defendant’s home, recovered by police , the court was told. The victim’s blood was also found on O’Hagan’s shoes. The judge was told the defendant had 39 previous convictions, six of them for theft.
