A man who is being held in custody following an alleged serious assault on his partner was told he had bail but couldn’t take it up because he hadn’t provided a verifiable address, which was part of his bail conditions.
Levi Alves, 4 The Nunnery, Portumna, and a native of Brazil, remains in custody until the address can be provided. At an earlier sitting of Ballinasloe District Court, Judge James Faughnan viewed photographs of the face of the alleged victim. Matters were complicated when the judge asked for a detailed medical report outlining whether the alleged victim had needed stitches for her injuries.
Prosecuting Garda Sgt Christy Brown said there might be an issue obtaining a medical report, and the young woman had returned to her native Brazil. The prosecution were hoping to arrange for her to give evidence by way of video-link from Brazil when the case comes to trial.
Judge Faughnan explained that he wanted to know about stitches so he could decide on jurisdiction, and whether the assault was serious enough to be dealt with at the Central Criminal Court.
Along with being charged with assault causing harm to the young woman he had been in a relationship with, Alves is also charged with assaulting or threatening to assault a Garda under Section 19 of the Public Order Act.
When Alves again appeared before the court at the October 1 sitting, the judge was informed that the victim had not needed stitches for her injured face. Judge Faughnan then agreed to hear the case in the District Court and adjourned matters until the October 14 sitting of Loughrea District Court.
Alves again enquired about bail and was told he had bail, but he hadn’t taken it up because he hadn’t met his bail conditions, namely providing an address which could be verified by the Gardaí.
Alves protested that his solicitor had informed him that his address had been forwarded via email to the Gardaí. “I don’t know where it is but it’s not here,” Sgt Brown told the judge. Alves was advised to send the address to the Court Presenters Office East Galway.
