Man fined £300 for assault was ‘acting in self defence’

Twenty-two-year-old Eamon John McLaughlin from Kevin Lynch Park, Dungiven, was convicted of common assault on August 10, 2019.

Police on mobile patrol at 12.30am in the town centre area, spotted the defendant who appeared to have minor cuts to his lips and neck with a female heading towards a parked car at Rainey Street, a PPS lawyer said.

He said the couple were later spotted in the Church Street area of the town where the defendant was seen to grab the female by the throat and bang her head against a boarded up window opposite the mini-roundabout.

Counsel said McLaughlin was arrested and cautioned, however, he told police he had acted in self defence as the injured party had been slapping him and pulling his hair which he claimed was a normal occurrence.

A defence lawyer said no statement of complaint had been made by the injured party following the incident.

He pointed out that it was clear from the police statements that the defendant had suffered a number of injuries himself a short time before this incident.

Deputy District Judge Noel Dunlop said he would deal with the matter by monetary penalty.

Mr Dunlop said he would give the defendant 26 weeks to pay the fine.

Editor’s message:

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.