A man has received a seven-month jail sentence after he burgled a restaurant and assaulted a man who stopped him fleeing the scene.
Zine Boudebaba (30) of Holiday Inn, Dublin Airport, was charged with assaulting Stanvslav Zarivngi causing him harm at Tobergal Lane, Sligo on April 22, 2026.
He was also charged with entering Walker 1781, O’Connell St, Sligo and stealing €370 from the wallet of a staff member from the staff changing room and further stealing €2.10 from a petty cash box in the administrative office.
The defendant appeared via video link and was aided by an Arabic interpreter.
Sergeant David McDonagh told the court that at 7:42pm, gardaí received a report of a theft from a staff member at Walker’s, O’Connell Street.
He added that Boudebaba was seen entering the pub where he took €370 from a wallet in a staff member’s bag in the changing room.
The defendant was subsequently located counting notes on the other side of the street by staff member, who approached him.
Boudebaba attempted to flee but Mr Zarivngi who was walking by, stopped him. Mr Zarivngi was then assaulted by the defendant who inflicted scraps and cuts on his hands, arms and neck.
Mr Zarivngi had to attend Sligo University Hospital to receive treatment.
Boudebaba was arrested and conveyed to Sligo Garda Station.
The court heard the defendant had 23 previous convictions.
Sgt McDonagh agreed with Ms Chloe Fogarty BL that quite a lot of his previous convictions were in the last four months, that he has been in custody since April 22 on these charges and that the theft was opportunistic rather than planned. It was also agreed that the money was recovered.
Sgt McDonagh said that neither of the victims wished to make a statement but that Mr Zarivngi wanted to highlight that he was punched by Boudebaba and that he had to receive injections at Sligo University Hospital to prevent infection from the scrapes inflicted.
Ms Fogarty told the court that her client thought he was getting beaten up by Mr Zarivngi and the staff member.
She outlined that Boudebaba was also taken to hospital. She added that her client came to Ireland in 2022 seeking asylum but that he recently received a deportation order that he was contesting.
Ms Fogarty told Judge Cunningham that her client was an Algerian national who went to France when he was 12 along with his two brothers and four sisters. She added that one of Boudebaba’s brothers resided in Ireland and intended to write a letter to the court but got his dates mixed up.
Ms Fogarty said that Boudebaba worked as a barber but that he started abusing alcohol and drugs after his mother passed away. She explained that her client did not get a chance to see her in France before she died.
Ms Fogarty continued that the theft was opportunistic and that Boudebaba never intended to hurt anyone. She said that since entering custody, her client has worked on improving himself, as he had gone to school, the gym and was on a waiting list for addiction counselling.
Ms Fogarty said that when Boudebaba is released from custody, he wants to see his daughter and move to Dublin.
She asked Judge Cunningham that since the two offences arose from the one incident, that both sentences should run concurrently and that they would be fully backdated to the time that he entered custody.
She also asked that if it was a custodial sentence, that a proportion would be suspended so that her client could continue his rehabilitation and re-enter society as a pro social member of the public.
Sgt McDonagh told Judge Cunningham that Boudebaba was on bail when the offences occurred. He also handed into court photographs of the injuries sustained by Mr Zarivngi.
For the burglary charge, Judge Cunningham sentenced the defendant to four months in prison. She handed down a seven-month jail sentence to Boudebaba for the assault. Both sentences were backdated to when he first entered custody on April 24.
Judge Cunningham said that both sentences were to run concurrently as they arose from the one incident.
Article funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme.