A North Kerry man has been found guilty of assaulting another man, causing him harm.
34-year-old David Elston of Croagh, Lisselton, was also found guilty of false imprisonment of the same man, Martin Keane, on the same night in August 2021.
A third man, 25-year-old Seanie Ryan of 93 O’Connell’s Avenue, Listowel, had already pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Elston that night.
The jury in the trial of Mr Elston delivered its verdict earlier this afternoon.
Mr Elston faced six charges, five of which related to one incident at his home in Lisselton on August 30th 2021.
The final count, alleging intimidation of a potential witness in the case, the same Mr Keane, in November 2022, was struck out as the prosecution offered no evidence.
The prosecution argued that when Mr Elston was alone with Martin Keane, he set upon him with weapons, namely wooden and metal batons, and inflicted serious injuries on him.
It was alleged that Mr Elston threatened to kill Mr Keane, and that he falsely imprisoned Mr Keane in his home, for the purposes of assaulting him.
Mr Elston denied all charges, claiming he acted in self-defence of himself and his home.
Yesterday, the jury of seven men and five women returned verdicts of not guilty in relation to the production of the metal baton, and the charge of threatening to kill Mr Keane.
After further deliberations this morning, four hours in total, the jury told Judge Sinead Behan they could not reach a unanimous verdict on the remaining three counts.
Judge Behan told the jury they could reach a majority verdict of at least ten to two on the remaining three counts, and the jury only deliberated for another five minutes.
They found Mr Elston guilty of assault causing harm, and false imprisonment, by a majority of eleven to one, but not guilty of producing a wooden baton during the assault.
Mr Elston is due to be sentenced on Thursday.
