Jail for man with 129 previous convictions who stabbed doctor multiple times

Alison O'Riordan

A judge has imposed a 10-year prison sentence on "a prolific, insidious offender" with 129 previous convictions who broke into a doctor's home and stabbed him multiple times during a "vicious" home invasion.

Mr Justice David Keane commented today that the victim's survival, despite the "extreme and excessive violence" used, was a matter of luck rather than judgment on behalf of violent criminal Dean Hayes, who has an "entrenched criminal history".

Sentencing Hayes - who has spent 90 per cent of his life in custody - at the Central Criminal Court on Tuesday, Mr Justice Keane said it was "particularly concerning" that the defendant had burgled and ransacked a neighbouring bungalow in 2009.

In his victim impact statement delivered last month, Waleed Mustafa said it was a "miracle" he wasn't killed that night. Mustafa described the first knife breaking during the unprovoked attack and how Hayes had gone to retrieve another.

The Central Criminal Court was previously told that Hayes was armed with a knife when he entered the doctor's bedroom as he was watching YouTube. The victim said he felt his attacker was going to kill him and was intent on getting revenge for something.

Dean Hayes (37) of Lee Estate, Island Road in Limerick had originally been charged with the attempted murder of Waleed Mustafa (45) at Newcastle, Dublin Road, Castletroy on June 20, 2024.

However when arraigned before the court last October, Hayes pleaded guilty that he entered a building as a trespasser and therein committed an arrestable offence, namely, causing serious harm to Mustafa and at the time had with him a weapon of offence, namely, a knife.

Hayes also pleaded guilty that on the same occasion he intentionally caused serious harm to Mustafa.

Prosecution counsel, Ronan Kennedy, told the court on Tuesday that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was entering a nolle prosequi on attempted murder, meaning the State would not be proceeding with that charge against Hayes.

Stab wounds

Before delivering sentence today, Mr Justice Keane noted that the victim had received multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, upper back, arms, neck, forehead and fingers. He said a doctor who treated the victim had described the injuries as being high risk wounds. "Fortuitously", the judge said, there was no injury to the internal organs of the abdomen.

The judge said the victim impact statement made it clear that grave psychological harm was suffered. He said Mr Mustafa was diagnosed with hypertension, had become more withdrawn and now avoided interaction with people. He said the doctor has a persistent insecurity and no longer felt completely safe in his own home.

Mr Justice Keane pointed out that CCTV footage showed Hayes, who was under the influence of intoxicants, had unsuccessfully tried to enter a neighbouring bungalow prior to the attack. Furthermore, the judge said it was "particularly concerning" and an aggravating factor that the defendant had burgled and ransacked that neighbouring bungalow in 2009.

Referring to the offence of assault causing serious harm, the judge said the attack was "entirely unprovoked, vicious and sustained", causing multiple lacerations to the victim. He said Mustafa was assaulted in his bedroom and received a stab wound to the abdomen, which exposed fatty tissue underneath.

He said it remained entirely unclear why Hayes chose to maintain the vicious assault on Mustafa, obtaining a second weapon rather than retreating.

Mr Justice Keane set the headline sentence for the offence of assault causing serious harm at 15 years imprisonment.

Concerning the second count of aggravated burglary, the judge said Hayes had a knife with him when he entered the victim's home and used extreme and excessive violence on him. He said the appropriate headline sentence was also 15 years imprisonment.

Mr Justice Keane noted that the most significant mitigating factor was Hayes' admission of guilt. He said the defendant did not deserve credit for previous good character as he had 129 previous convictions, which span back to 2003 and include 17 convictions for burglary, 66 for theft, two for aggravated burglary, three for robbery, two for assault causing harm and five for possession of drugs for sale or supply.

The judge said the DPP had submitted that certain previous convictions were partly relevant, including that the property directly adjacent to the victim had been burgled by the defendant in 2009. He said nothing had been taken but that the property had been totally ransacked.

The judge said a probation report noted that Hayes had limited recollection of the offence due to the level of his intoxication, having consumed vodka and street tablets.

Mr Justice Keane said Hayes had been back in the community less than 12 weeks when he committed these offences. He said a probation report found Hayes was "a prolific, insidious offender" for the last 20 years and had a chronic drug addiction, which increased his impulsivity.

The probation service, he said, also classified him at high risk of reoffending over the next 12 months due to his "entrenched criminal history" and chronic drug and alcohol addiction.

The judge said Hayes had spent 90 per cent of his life in custody; first in juvenile detention and then in prison.

Substance abuse, the judge said, had been a key feature of Hayes' life. He said a probation report found that the defendant began using cannabis at nine years of age and experimented with other drugs from 12 years old.

Mr Justice Keane said Hayes had declined addiction support and psychology services in prison. He said the defendant's compliance with the probation services had been extremely sporadic in the past and it was likely he would require a level of support upon his release from prison.

The judge imposed concurrent sentences of 12 years imprisonment with the final two years suspended for the offences of assault causing serious harm and aggravated burglary on condition that Hayes engage in a residential drug treatment and a victim empathy programme. The sentences were backdated to June 2024.