A man has “lost his sight in one eye” as a result of an altercation in a busy Newry shopping centre on Tuesday afternoon, a court has heard.
The injured man was allegedly gouged by Ebony Hughes in the Buttercrane precinct while the complainant was out with his mother and 9-year-old daughter.
Hughes, of Ardcarn Park in the city, appeared before a special sitting of Lisburn Magistrates’ Court on Friday, having been arrested on Wednesday.
The 38-year-old, who appeared via videolink from Banbridge Custody Suite, shook his head repeatedly as Detective Constable David Kirkwood outlined his objections to bail.
He told the court how police received a report on Wednesday evening from the injured party stating that he had been assaulted the previous day in Buttercrane shopping centre.
The complainant gave a body-worn interview to police, and the court heard he is considering providing a statement on the advice of his solicitor.
The alleged victim told police he suffered broken ribs and “loss of sight in his right eye” as a result of the fight which, Det Constable Kirkwood said, lasted approximately 27 seconds on review of CCTV.
“Police believe that we can see Mr Hughes raising his right hand towards [the alleged victim] and putting it towards his face,” said the officer.
“After four seconds [the complainant] puts his hand up to his face as if he has had his eye injured. The fight is over at that point.”
The officer told the court that a charge of possession of an offensive weapon was not being proceeded with following review of the footage as it is believed Hughes “used his finger”.
In objecting to bail, the officer continued: “The pair have quite a storied background, and a lot of the information the police have can’t be disclosed to the court because it is not official information, it’s intelligence.
“What we do know is that they are in an ongoing feud with each other, and there is a great dislike between these two men, which led to this chance meeting in the Buttercrane Shopping Centre, and then led to this acrimonious fight occurring.”
DC Kirkwood raised concerns over the defendant possibly failing to surrender to police, commenting: “When the defendant was a named suspect and wanted by police for a very serious assault in May 2022, he was believed to have evaded arrest by fleeing the country.”
The court heard how Hughes “has been in Australia for a point”, that “police believe he has another passport” and “he has previous links to Dundalk”.
The officer, who confirmed that Hughes was no longer being investigated for any crime in 2022, also said he was likely to interfere with witnesses.
He cited an alleged incident in 2002, in which the injured party reported Hughes for threatening him with a machete.
While Hughes was not convicted of any wrongdoing in relation to that incident, DC Kirkwood said the defendant has a previous conviction for intimidation dating back to 2012.
“He grabbed somebody around the neck and shouted, ‘You’re coming with me’,” he said. “He dragged a victim, forcing him to make a phone call to another person to get them to withdraw a complaint, and he was convicted of intimidation in that case.”
He added: “The current incident occurred in a popular shopping centre in view of the injured party’s mother and his 9-year-old child.
“Hughes did not hesitate in headbutting the IP, which initiated the fight, and as a result of the fight, the injury was sustained.
“[The complainant] is saying that he has lost the sight in that eye; that’s subject to review in hospital in the next couple of weeks.”
Hughes’s defence contended: “I have viewed the CCTV, and the alleged injured party’s mother gets involved with an umbrella, so there could be an instance here where the umbrella has actually caused the injury to this man’s eye.”
He added: “There’s no evidence about the injury to this man’s eye, but he accepts in his statement, on body-worn footage, that six months ago, he had an injury to his eye, and he has a pre-existing injury to his eye. There is no hard and fast indication that this came as a result of this altercation.”
The defence stated that Hughes, who has recently started gainful employment as a labourer with a building firm, would be willing to surrender “his only passport” and offer a cash surety of £10,000. Additionally, he stated his client would be willing to abide by a curfew.
“There is no medical evidence to substantiate that there is a level of injury that will lead to the GBH charge,” the defence argued. “All there is at this moment in time is CCTV footage showing an altercation.
“I’ve watched the CCTV, and, as bad as it sounds, these are two men who came to blows in a shopping centre.”
However, District Judge Rosie Watters wasn’t persuaded and remanded Hughes in custody – much to the defendant’s exasperation – until July 24.
The judge cited a risk of further offences and potential interference with witnesses.
