Enniskillen Court House RMG10
A KESH man who threw a glass at a family member during a row “that got out of hand” at a party last year has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Robert Brown (26) of Crevenish Road, Kesh was pleaded guilty to common assault at Enniskillen Magistrates Court last Wednesday.
The charges arose after police were called to Brown’s home in Kesh at approximately 2.15am on Sunday, September 13, 2015.
When officers arrived at the scene they spoke to family members, who told them the injured party had been hit with a glass that had been thrown by Brown, causing an injury to his nose. Brown was inside the property and made admissions to police during interview.
Brown, who had no previous convictions, told police there had been an altercation and “punches were thrown” and he conceded he lifted a glass and threw it, but said he had not intended for the glass to hit anyone.
Defence barrister Stefan Rafferty said that “at first blush it is a very unsavoury incident” that happened over a year ago. He said it was “a family dispute that got out of hand.”
Mr Rafferty said there had been a party on in Brown’s house that night, and while there was drink involved, it “wasn’t excessive alcohol.”
The barrister added the injured party had not made a statement of complaint and there was no medical evidence, and if it had not been for Brown’s admissions in his interview, where he wasn’t represented by a solicitor, the prosecution would have had difficulty progressing the case.
Stating Brown, who he described as “a hard working and honest man,” felt he was acting in self-defence, Mr Rafferty said the father-of-one accepted that he was responsible but said when he’d thrown the glass he did not intend to hurt anyone and that the act was “borne out of frustration.”
The court was also told Brown was not likely to offend again, with Mr Rafferty describing it as a one-off incident. The barrister asked for credit for Brown guilty plea and clear record.
District Judge Peter Pryterch said while the incident was serious, there had been no serious injury and it had not been what he said would be a normal “glassing” incident as there was no force. Rather he said it had been a reckless act, not a deliberate attempt to injure.
Accepting the main evidence in the case was from Brown own admissions, Judge Pryterch said, as he was a working man who was bringing up a child, he would not impose an immediate custodial sentence on Brown.
He sentenced him to five months in prison, suspended for two years.
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