A Newry gym owner has been ordered to pay a fine of £600 for a “sustained” and “unprovoked” assault dating back to 2009.
Sentencing the 33-year-old, the district judge acknowledged the time elapsed since the offence but commented that this was a “serious offence, involving a headbutt and then a sustained attack”.
Declan Trainor, of Rossmara Park in Warrenpoint, pleaded guilty to a single count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at Newry Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
Prosecution outlined that, in the early hours of May 25, 2009, the injured party had been waiting for a taxi on Dock Street, Warrenpoint, when he was approached by this defendant, whom he claimed was someone he knew from school.
What occurred next was described by the prosecution as an “unprovoked” attack, as Trainor pushed the injured party against a set of shop shutters before headbutting him.
The defendant continued to strike the male with his fist to the head and face until he was knocked out and left on the ground.
Prosecution stated that the injured party was left with two broken teeth, cuts and bruising to the inside of his mouth along with swelling to his left eye.
The victim had to be taken to Daisy Hill Hospital for treatment. CCTV of the scene was obtained and Trainor attended Banbridge Police Station on June 22, where he made no reply to caution.
Defence barrister Aoife Macauley asked District Judge Eamon King to take note of the date of the offence, commenting that her client was just 20 years of age at the time.
She stated that this would have been Trainor’s first appearance before the court, with only one relevant entry following this occurring in 2014.
District Judge King acknowledged the time elapsed since the offence but commented that this was a “serious offence, involving a headbutt and then a sustained attack”.
Trainor was ordered to pay a fine of £600, along with the offender’s levy of £15, within 10 weeks.
