Suspended sentence for County Derry woman after 'bad blood' assault
A County Derry woman has been warned she needs to address her alcohol issues after pleading guilty to assaulting another woman in 2019.
Brenda McEldowney, with an address given in court as Six Mile Straight, Draperstown, appeared via video link for sentencing on Wednesday on a single charge of common assault.
A guilty plea had already been entered to the assault, which took place on August 22 2019, and defence for the 54-year-old outlined her background to the court.
They said McEldowney had previously ended up homeless and caught in a cycle of 'nuisance offending' culminating in a judge activating a number of suspended sentences and sending her to prison.
The custodial spell had effectively 'wiped clean' her roster of suspended sentences, one of which she would have been in breach of at the time of the incident.
Counsel warned against the imposition of probation period, saying the defendant was 'not in a place' where it would help.
They said there had been 'bad blood' between McEldowney and the injured party a long time ago.
Judge Mullan said she had tried to work with the defendant to address her issues, but told her she would be going to prison if she continued to offend.
She sentenced McEldowney to six months' imprisonment, suspended for a period of three years.