Westmeath Man Avoids Prison Sentence For Stabbing Friend After Playstation Row

William Cuffe pleaded guilty to assault causing harm in Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court.

A gamer who stabbed his friend and left him permanently scarred following a "bizarre" online argument through their PlayStation headsets has been spared jail.

Former friends William Cuffe, 49, and Rory Fagan logged onto Battlefield V via their game consoles in their homes in Moate, Westmeath, on December 30, 2020.

However, the gamers had a heated disagreement as they talked on headsets about pandemic fatality levels, Mullingar Circuit Criminal Court was told.

The online spat turned into a real-life violent confrontation when Mr Fagan, who was at his Church Lane apartment, drove to Cuffe's home about half a mile away in Slieve Rua.

He was stabbed three times, puncturing his stomach and lacerating his liver, during a struggle.

Cuffe, who is on long-term disability due to neck and back problems, maintained that he was afraid of his friend, claiming he was stronger and angry.

Sentencing today, Judge Keenan Johnson said Cuffe took the law into his own hands but noted several mitigating factors, including his guilty plea, how incarceration would separate him from his family, who were blameless, and positive testimonials.

A probation report stated Cuffe, who had no prior convictions, was at low risk of offending, and he brought €7,000 compensation for the victim.

Judge Johnson ordered him to hand over the money and told him he must carry out the maximum community service, 240 hours' work, instead of a two-year and nine-month jail sentence.

Cuffe pleaded guilty to assault causing harm.

A medical report stated the victim was expected to make a full recovery and would have scarring and lost his belly button.

The judge noted the victim was off work for four months and has been attending counselling.

The judge highlighted this as an example where the community service limit should be raised to 600 hours, and he had written to ministers suggesting the increase to help rehabilitation in some cases.

Earlier, Garda Hayley Foley had told the court that the gamers had been talking on their headsets.

The pair, who had known each other for five years through gaming, discussed the coronavirus but "had a disagreement over figures and how deaths are recorded."

Cuffe's friend started shouting, and the accused told him to f***-off.

Cuffe claimed Mr Fagan, a father of two, warned him, "Never tell me to f*** off, or I will go down and drag you out the window."

However, Cuffe told him to f*** off again and was expecting the victim to arrive at his house.

Five minutes later, Fagan turned up at his door to confront him. Cuffe claimed he got the knife from his kitchen as a deterrent because he knew the victim was stronger and angry.

He told gardai that "in a blink of an eye", his gaming friend grabbed him and put him into a headlock.

"I said let me go, or I will stab you," he admitted.

The court heard he thought he "nicked" the man once under the shoulder, and he claimed he did not intend to hurt him badly.

Mr Fagan had said in his statement that he put his former friend in a headlock to protect himself.

However, the court heard that during the scuffle, Cuffe stabbed Mr Fagan three times, puncturing his right chest, upper abdomen and lower right back.

He bled heavily but made his way to his girlfriend's home and was taken by ambulance to hospital.

He had internal injuries and needed two operations.

The garda said he was okay, but the wound had not fully healed, and he was back working.

Questioned by the judge, she added that there was no evidence of alcohol consumption on the night.

Former bricklayer Cuffe had no prior convictions and had not come to further adverse attention.

However, he tried to minimise the extent of the incident by telling his probation officer he stabbed the victim once, not three times.

Pharmaceutical worker Mr Fagan provided a victim impact statement, saying he was lucky to have made it to the hospital.

He stated the knife punctured his stomach, lacerated his liver, missed a shoulder artery by a millimetre, and he no longer had a belly button.

He had anxiety afterwards and very little power in his left hand, changed jobs, and he and his partner moved.

In his statement, he said he was annoyed at Cuffe's covid scepticism, only intended to put him into a headlock and did not understand why he had the knife.

The garda agreed with John Short SC, defending, that both men had been friends for years who enjoyed playing computer games, and Cuffe had helped the victim with home renovations.

The officer also accepted counsel's suggestion that they were both decent men "caught in a moment of bizarre behaviour" in the throes of the second lockdown.

The accused told the court he was wrong and was truly sorry.

Cuffe had references provided to the court, which also heard that he did voluntary community work