A psychiatric assessment is to be carried out on a 24 year old man charged with subjecting four people to assaults, including a 73 year old man, over a six minute spell in Ennis town centre last April.
At Ennis Circuit Court, Pavel Kratochvil of Ard Caoin, Gort Rd, Ennis was due to enter a plea of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’ concerning the alleged assaults on April 1st last.
The case was deferred for a number of minutes to allow lawyers for Mr Kratochvil, Rebecca Treacy BL and Daragh Hassett get instructions from their client.
However after speaking with Mr Kratochvil outside court for a number of minutes, Ms Treacy returned to say that she had an application to make concerning Mr Kratochvil’s fitness to plead under Section 4 of the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006 in circumstances where Mr Kratochvil has been unable to give clear instructions to his legal representatives.
She said: “I don’t believe that he has a full understanding of the trial and in those circumstances I am making an application for the case to be adjourned and for Mr Kratochvil to be psychiatrically assessed.
Ms Treacy said that a report will be required concerning the fitness to be tried issue.
Counsel for the State, Lorcan Connolly BL said that Mr Kratochvil is charged with assaulting four people moments apart and Ms Treacy’s application is a reasonable one.
He said: “I have to take what she says as correct.”
In the case, Mr Kratochvil is charged with assaulting a 59 year old customer in the upstairs of Supermac’s in Ennis while the alleged victim was eating his meal.
The State’s case is that Mr Kratochvil carried out the assaults in four to six minutes on four different people at around 6pm on the date. Two of the other alleged victims are aged 53 and 73.
Mr Kratochvil is also charged with assaulting a second alleged injury party as he made his way in the direction of the Temple Gate hotel after exiting Supermacs.
Mr Kratochvil is also charged with assaulting a 73 year old man and his wife as they couple got out of their car at the Temple Gate car park.
Judge Gerard Keys further remanded Mr Kratochvil
in custody and extended the legal aid cert to cover the cost of the psychiatric assessment.
Judge Keys adjourned the case to December 12th.
