A dispute involving money and an emoji ended with a Wexford man assaulting his friend and ending up in front of a judge.
The incident resulted in a man receiving a cut to his face on Thursday, January 27, 2022, as confirmed by Garda Denise McGrath.
Gavin Cullen, 32, pleaded guilty to the assault on David Kenny, from Hantoon Road, Maudlintown, while he was resting in his home on a sofa.
Kenny is the partner of Cullen's half-sister Lisa Gabbett, and the pair are since back on good terms.
During the hearing at Wexford Circuit Court, Garda McGrath revealed that at around 5 pm, Cullen burst into the victim's house and began hitting him around the head with a clenched fist.
That attack resulted in blood from a cut on the right eyebrow with a sore and tender face.
As reported by the Independent, The accused was arrested the following morning and told Gardaí "I hit two quick ones and left". The judge was ensured that the pair had since "kissed and made up", as he put it.
Money was the cause of the dispute
The incident occurred because of a loan of money, believed to be a sum of €800 made by Cullen to Kenny.
A text response of an emoji to a query about the funds resulted in the previously described attack.
The judge stated that he had never witnessed a case where a crime was provoked by an emoji.
While he was not happy that the accused had entered the house to assault someone, he was happy that Kenny had made a recovery from the injuries sustained.
The court heard that Cullen had no previous convictions and was a hard worker. He received a six-month prison sentence, but the term was suspended in full once he agreed to be bound to the peace.
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