Enniskillen Court House RMG10
AN IRVINESTOWN man attacked a visitor to the town who was on a night out, breaking his nose and cutting his face.
Joseph Roberts (21) of Killadeas Road, Irvinestown appeared at Enniskillen Magistrates Court last Wednesday charged with assault causing harm on Jonathan Weir in Irvinestown on July 16 last year.
Mr Weir, who is from the Dungannon area, had been socialising at Mahon’s Hotel with his girlfriend Michelle Devine, who has family in the town, and her cousin and friend. After they left the hotel, the group went to get food on the town street, where Mr Weir was attacked.
Mr Weir was first punched when he turned around after feeling someone grab at a bottle in his back pocket. He said his recollection of the events after that was blurry, but he remembered falling to the ground and being kicked around the head and face. Afterwards he was taken by ambulance to hospital where he was treated for cuts and a broken nose.
Mr Weir said at the time he had seen the person who hit him, describing him as having “bright ginger hair”, but because he wasn’t from the area he didn’t know who the person was. He said the person who punched him was the ring leader of a group of people who attacked him, and had continued shouting verbal abuse at him afterwards. In her evidence, Ms Devine recalled how Roberts had first hit Mr Weir in the face then came back with others and attacked him again. She said one male held her back when she tried to help, and that she got a very clear view of Roberts during this time.
She said that afterwards Mr Weir’s face was swollen and his shirt was covered in blood. He was in a panicked state and “didn’t know if he was coming or going.” Ms Devine called the police, and said the Roberts and the others “scarpered” when they heard this.
Neither Mr Weir or Ms Devine knew Roberts previously, but were told his name by someone at the scene, and later by another individual. Using the name given to them, they later identified Roberts via his Facebook profile and informed police.
Roberts had initially pleaded not guilty to the charge against him, with his defence team arguing that Roberts had been identified via hearsay, which they said was not legally admissible. Barrister Desmond Fahy said the Mr Weir and Ms Devine had identified Roberts through people who were not in court to give evidence themselves.
Mr Fahy said there was a very strict police identification process, that is carried out in a controlled environment, which had not been followed. He also argued that Roberts subsequent police interview, in which he admitted the Facebook profile belonged to him, was also inadmissible as he and his solicitor had not been informed he had not been formally identified.
Deputy District Judge Anne Marshall accepted that the hearsay identification was inadmissible. She said if had given a no comment police interview the case would not be able to proceed, but Roberts had made admissions in his police interview.
After the case took a break for lunch, Mr Fahy asked for Roberts, a full-time engineer, to be rearraigned and the defendant changed his plea to guilty. Judge Marshall ordered a pre-sentence report for Roberts in order to assess his suitability for community service and adjourned sentencing until February 29.
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