A MAN who kicked his victim and ‘smashed the bones of his face’ at a nightclub in Omagh, has been told he should have been sentenced to years in jail at the Crown Court rather than months at the Magistrates Court.
Daniel Talbot (23), of Stewartstown Road, Stewartstown, admitted carrying out the assault, occasioning actual bodily harm, on December 26, 2019. At Omagh Magistrates Court he was sentenced to six months in jail.
However, District Judge Bernie Kelly said the case should have gone to the Crown Court which has greater sentencing powers.
She read a medical report that outlined injuries to the victim that included a broken nose, displaced sinus, top jaw fracture, a fractured eye socket and numbness to his face. He spent two days in hospital as a result of his injuries.
Judge Kelly said, “There is only one way to receive those injuries, apart from being thrown out of an airplane or a road traffic collision, it was a kick did that. This is not a Magistrates case it is Crown Court and should attract years, not months.”
She indicated the Magistrates Court had a maximum sentencing power of 12 months. Because of Talbot’s previous clear record and guilty plea she gave him a six-month jail term.
The court was told the male was assaulted around 11.10pm in an Omagh nightclub. CCTV footage showed Talbot approach the injured party and started a conversation in his ear before punching him and kicking him to the head.
In police interview, he admitted he hit the injured party but claimed he was going to be struck first. He was originally charged with the more serious offence of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.
In a statement, a police officer at the scene noted, “I observed the man lying on the ground unconscious and breathing. I could see blood bubbling from his nostrils as he breathed.
“The male was also convulsing.”
Defence counsel, Brian O’Sullivan, acknowledged the incident was “shocking” and said Talbot appreciated it was a ‘very serious matter’. He said the defendant, who works as a business analyst, “was not sure what happened” and pleaded guilty immediately to the offence.
Judge Kelly said, “Regardless of his good record, good works and high achieving career he would still be looking at years in the Crown Court. This event changed the life of his victim forever, at the feet of another human being. These are permanent injuries.”
Addressing Talbot, she added, “You took your boot to the face of another human being and you smashed the bones in his face. You rendered him fitting and bleeding and unconscious, because you had too much drink.
“In the Crown Court this would be in the order of five to seven years but I can’t do anything about that, and we are where we are.
“I have limited sentencing power and the maximum is 12 months. You are entitled to credit for the guilty plea, no previous and your background.”
After imposing the sentence, the judge said to the Prosecution Service “don’t let this happen again”, regarding the case not being sent to the Crown Court.
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