A 24-year old man who launched an “unprovoked and vicious” attack on another man was handed a two-year sentence yesterday (Tuesday).
David Porter - who attended Belfast Crown Court via a videolink with HMP Maghaberry - was told his sentence was being divided equally between jail and licence.
From Fernagh Parade in Newtownabbey, Porter admitted the grievous bodily harm charge and was sentenced by Judge Mark Reel. The charge relates to a violent incident which occurred in the Fernagh Road area of Newtownabbey on April 14, 2022.
At around midnight on that date, the PSNI received reports of an ongoing incident between two males. When officers arrived the injured party was lying on the pavement with visible wounds.
Porter was not present at the scene but was located by police nearby with blood on his hands and face. When spoken to by officers, Porter said he had been fighting with a man who he branded as a ‘housebreaker’.
He also told police ‘that’s why I kicked the f*** out of him. Look at my knuckles’. The court heard that prior to being assaulted, the injured party had been in a local pub with his son and a friend and was walking home when he was verbally accosted by Porter.
Acting in an aggressive manner, a topless Porter proceeded to shout ‘I want to box you’. Fearing he was about to be attacked, the injured party struck out at Porter but missed.
Porter then punched the injured party several times, with Judge Reel revealing that “he felt his head was wet and his vision was impaired ... and he was wiping blood from his eyes”.
The injured party tried to get away and kicked out in a bid to stop Porter. As he walked away backwards, the injured party fell to the ground and has no memory of what happened next.
The incident was witnessed by several members of the public, one of whom saw Porter punching the other man as he lay on the ground and another who observed the injured man being kicked by Porter as he lay prone.
Both witnesses intervened in a bid to stop the assault and who heard Porter repeatedly brand the injured party as a ‘housebreaker’. Judge Reel told the court the allegation Porter made was “entirely unfounded and based upon his own intoxication”.
The Judge said that after reading a statement made by the injured party, it was clear he suffered a number of injuries in the attack - including a broken ankle which required surgery and several “significant” lacerations to his face.
He is self-employed and due to his injuries he had to take three months off work and use both his savings and borrowed money to survive financially. Regarding Porter, Judge Reel noted that he began mis-using drink and drugs in his teens and has no qualifications nor a history of employment.
Branding the attack as “unprovoked and vicious” and one which involved “kicking a defenceless victim on the ground,” Judge Reel told Porter “your offending is so serious only immediate custodial imprisonment is appropriate”.
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