Child (14) stabbed in hand with glass shard by thief who tried to rob e-scooter, court hears

Sonya McLean

A man who stabbed a 14-year-old’s hand with a shard of glass as he was trying to rob an e-scooter from the child has been jailed for three and a half years.

Daniel Hayes (30) later claimed that he had not used glass on the child and suggested that the glass fell out of the scooter. He said that he had potentially caused the cut to the teenager’s hand by scrapping him with his nail during the struggle.

Hayes said he had just bought cannabis from a drug dealer nearby and that this man told Hayes that if he got the scooter off the child a pre-existing drug debt would be cleared.

Hayes of Bishop Street Flats, Dublin 8, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to attempted robbery and assault causing harm in Dublin city on August 09, 2025. He has 126 previous convictions, which are all from the District Court and include stealing vehicles, criminal damage, possession of stolen property and drugs.

Garda Saman Grewal told Oisin Clarke BL, prosecuting, that Hayes ran up to the child and tried to take the e-scooter off him. The child was playing outside his home at the time. Hayes didn’t manage to take it and produced a shard of glass, cutting the hand of the victim in the process.

He was still not successful in taking the e-scooter and ran off. Hayes was later identified by gardaí after they viewed footage from neighbouring homes.

The child’s mother was a nurse, and she immediately dealt with the injury. He was taken to hospital, but the doctor felt that the child’s skin was too thin to allow for stitches. There was no medical report before the court.

Mr Clarke said a statement from the doctor said the wound “was not too bad, not too deep, but it bled a lot”. They applied a dressing and sent the child home. He still has some scarring on his hand.

Gda Grewal said there was no victim impact statement before the court. The child is frightened and feels vulnerable as it happened outside his home, but Mr Clarke confirmed that Hayes has not caused further trouble for the family.

Pieter Le Vert BL, defending, said his client was immediately remanded in custody, but he was released by “mistake” at some point later. Hayes then contacted his solicitor, and the prison service were alerted. Counsel submitted to the court that Hayes then “effectively turned himself in”.

Mr LeVert said his client had a difficult childhood, and his mother moved them out of the family home due to violence there. He did not receive a good education.

Hayes started abusing drugs at 17 years old, moving from tablets to cannabis to cocaine. He carried out work around the city with a horse and carriage, but “drugs took over his life, and he began to spiral out of control", counsel said.

He said Hayes’ previous convictions relate to his drug addiction.

His brother died in tragic circumstances, Mr Le Vert said, before he added that Hayes’ first partner died in 2002, they had two children together. His second partner died in 2024 after she suffered a seizure in 2024 due to a miscarriage.

Mr LeVert said his client “carries an immense burden of guilt", which led to his addiction. His mother is often in the hospital, which also causes him concern while he is on remand in custody.

Counsel submitted that despite his significant number of convictions, Hayes does not have a history of violence and “is frankly horrified by what he did”.

Judge Orla Crowe said the case “clearly marks a notable escalation in his offending – not only violence, but it relates to a child”.

She said the victim had “the misfortune to encounter Daniel Hayes” who repeatedly tried to take his e-scooter, took a shard of glass and stabbed the child in the hand.

Judge Crowe described Hayes’ actions are both “cowardly and shameful”.

She said the victim was left with “a substantial mark to his hand” and noted that the court has a photograph of the injury.

Judge Crowe accepted that Hayes said he was sorry but denied that he had used glass.

She said a headline sentence of six years was justified before she imposed a sentence of four years.

Judge Crowe suspended the final six months of that term on strict conditions for two years, including that Hayes engage with the Probation Service for 12 months upon his release after accepting evidence that he wants to access treatment. The sentence was backdated to when Hayes first went into custody in August 2025.