One punch assault lands Downpatrick man in jail

One punch assault lands Downpatrick man in jail

13 December 2017

A DOWNPATRICK man has received a 15 month prison sentence after his single punch left a man with a serious head injury. 

At the local Crown Court on Thursday, Judge Piers Grant said the jailing of 24 year-old Sean Patrick McMahon, of Mallard Drive, was “a classic case demonstrating the lack of wisdom of young men who find themselves in a situation of aggression and one of them takes it too far”.

McMahon will spend seven-and-a-half months in custody and the remainder of his term on probation for causing grievous bodily injury to Conal Magill during a night out in Downpatrick.

McMahon admitted punching Mr Magill to the side of his head following a verbal exchange as he waited for a lift home at around 2am on February 26.

The court heard the defendant, who had been drinking vodka, almost immediately regretted his action and checked to see if the injured man was alright before asking a bystander to phone an ambulance. 

He waited with Mr Magill until the ambulance and police arrived although he did not tell police he was responsible for his injuries until he called into the local station to admit the assault later that day.

A witness to the assault told police there was a tense atmosphere as the defendant and the injured party “exchanged words” across the road immediately before the punch.

He said there was an effort to keep the parties apart but the defendant suddenly punched the injured partly to the face causing him to fall to the kerb.

Conal Magill, who had been at a charity event in Downpatrick, said he had little recollection of the night except a “male he did not know and a punch to the face”.

He said the next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital where he was diagnosed with a fractured skull, a broken nose and a bleed to the brain.

The court heard that he had been “somewhat generous” towards the defendant and said he did not believe the injuries were intended.

A defence barrister accepted the experience had been “without doubt distressing and painful” for Mr Magill but pleaded for leniency considering the defendant had handed himself in to police and had the “decency to stay with the injured party until help arrived”.

“There was no pre-meditation, it was a single blow, it was not repeated or followed up in any way,” he said.

“He hit the victim with a punch and he accepts he was wrong to do so. Excessive alcohol contributed to the incident.”

Despite mitigating factors in the case, Judge Piers Grant said he must impose custody because of a live suspended sentence hanging over the defendant at the time of the assault.

“This was a young man who consumed far too much alcohol and became aggressive during the course of it,” he said.

“But this was not a simple incident in which the defendant alone confronted the complainant.

“It is quite clear the complainant became aggressive also and there was an exchange between them in the centre of the street.

“This is a classic case which demonstrates the lack of wisdom of young men who find themselves in a situation of aggression and one of them takes it too far.

“Unfortunately this seems to be something of a trait because it is recognised the defendant was under the burden of a suspended sentence following a previous incident when he assaulted an individual.

“People should learn the message that if you are given a suspended sentence it is a warning to behave yourself and you will suffer nothing further. 

“This was a serious offence. It was a significant blow.

“It is clear the defendant very quickly, if not immediately, regretted what he had done.

“Young men should realise if they can’t drink they should not drink.”