A heroin addict who attacked an American student with a machete and factured her skull faces a five year jail term.

Brian Veale (30) pleaded guilty to robbery of the 19-year-old student at Dominic Street in Cork on February 26th last and was jailed for three years for the robbery.

But Judge Sean Ó Donnabháin ordered that the sentence would not commence until Veale completes a two year sentence from Waterford Circuit Criminal Court.

That sentence had been suspended for two years but the robbery from the American student had activated the suspended sentence leaving Veale now facing a five year term in jail.

Veale also pleaded guilty to assault of a 17-year-old male in Cork on the same night as he attacked the American student and he received a two year concurrent term for that assault.

Det Sgt Vincent O’Sullivan told Cork Circuit Criminal Court that on the night in question, Veale had gone out from his rented house at Dominic Street in Cork around 10pm.

Veale had a serious heroin addition and told gardaí that he had “shot up a few bags of gear” and he had gone out planning to steal cars when he carried out both attacks.

The young male called for help as Veale fled and gardaí were responding to that call when they learned that Veale had attacked the American student a short distance away.

The American woman had been with friends at a show at the Firkin Crane when she heard a noise behind her and saw Veale trying to grab her handbag and she tried to resist.

But Veale produced a machete with a two foot long blade and swung it down on her head, cutting her scalp and fracturing her skull, said Det Sgt O’Sullivan.

“She later required three staples and he left her with a fractured skull. He pulled a handbag off her. He dropped the machete and ran down the street.”

Veale ran off on to nearby Shandon Street but some passers-by challenged him and tried to detain him but he managed to get away from them and fled up Shandon Street.

Gardaí who had responded to the first attack spotted him and arrested him but he was high on heroin at the time and they had to wait several hours before they could interview him.

Veale had no recollection of the first attack on the 17-year-old – who required 11 staples for a head wound – but he admitted that attack as well as the robbery of American student.

The two injured parties were entirely innocent people going about their lives that night and were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when they were attacked, Det Sgt O’Sullivan said.

A native of Dungarvan, Co Waterford, Veale had a total of 101 previous convictions including six for assault of which two were stabbings, said Det Sgt O’Sullivan.

Judge Ó Donnabháin noted that Veale had a history of serious violence and it was a very worrying matter that such a man would be armed with a machete after taking drugs.

The first offence was bad enough but what was a seriously aggravating factor was that he then went and carried out a second attack just a few minutes later.

However he must be given credit for his guilty pleas which saved both his victims the trauma of a trial, said Judge Ó Donnabháin as he imposed the various jail terms on Veale.