When police arrived at the defendant’s house he openly admitted to the offence
AN 18-year-old student who punched another man in the face leaving him unconscious and needing six stitches to his upper lip has been handed a community service order.
Queen’s University student Andrew James Morrison, of College Park Lane in Enniskillen, pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm when he appeared before Fermanagh court on Monday.
Morrison attacked Darragh Murphy in The Diamond area of Enniskillen and ran off as he saw him fall to the ground.
It emerged during court that Mr Murphy had been knocked momentarily unconscious and needed six stitches to his upper lip and received an injury to his head when he was punched.
A prosecutor outlined to the court that on August 8, at approximately 2am, police were on patrol in The Diamond when they spotted a man lying on the ground with blood on his face with other people scattered around him.
The officers discovered that he had been punched by an unknown male who left after the man was injured.
Members of the public who saw the incident described the accused and told police he was wearing grey chinos and a grey and cream T-shirt. However, a short time later a person approached the officers and gave the defendant’s name as the man who punched Mr Murphy.
The following day officers went to the home of Morrison who immediately admitted to the offence saying: “It was me, I did it. I hope he is OK.”
He told officers there was no altercation between the pair and that after he hit him, he saw him fall and then he left the area and got into a taxi.
Morrison, who appeared in court dressed in a brown suit, sat in the public gallery with his mother and rugby coach who the defence solicitor said was willing to give a testimony to his character.
Morrison’s solicitor said that he is a young man who is studying Maths in Queen’s University in Belfast.
He added: “This is his first appearance in court and he accepts his responsibility for what he did. He appreciated he is in some difficulty. His mother is appalled by his behaviour.
“He was heavily intoxicated at the time of the offence but he does not want me to emphasise this as there is nothing to justify this unprovoked attack.
“He comes from a family who are not familiar with the courts and this incident has caused concern and upset.
“Hopefully this is an isolated incident and the chances of this reoccurring is very limited. This is a one-off offence.”
District Judge Nigel Broderick read through a number of character references which was handed into court.
Judge Broderick told the accused: “I think you recognise how serious this is. All too frequently you will read in the media how young men who carry out assaults have sometimes devastating consequences.
“He hit his head off the ground and suffered serious injuries. People have died through just receiving one punch. They hit their head and died as a result and you could have been that defendant if the injured party had died.
“You are a man of good character and academically gifted and it’s regrettable to find yourself here. “Hopefully this is a one-off incident. If you appear back in court you can expect a custodial sentence.
I will impose a community service order of 200 hours and compensation of £500. But that does not reflect the full value of the injuries sustained by the man.”
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