A Newry man has appeared at Newry Court in relation to charges of Criminal Damage and Common Assault of his partner. Liam Noden, (24) of Cois Locha, Newry, admitted the offences arising from a domestic dispute believed to have occurred on December 17 last year.
At midnight of the 17th of December the court heard that police received a report of an ongoing domestic incident in Newry.
The court heard that police attended the scene and spoke with the victim. The injured party alleged that she had been drinking with her partner, Noden that evening.
Once at home the victim and Noden had a verbal argument and she stated that once she tried to calm the defendant down, he became physical, hitting her and pulling her hair.
The young lady left the property to try and get to a safe place but Noden chased after her to the entrance of the Quay shopping centre in Newry. The victim said that Noden then pulled the young lady by the hair and pulled her back to the house and ripping her clothing to the extent that she was exposed to the waist up. Following this Noden also took the young lady’s phone and smashed it.
Speaking from Newry Court the defence counsel said:
“The concerning aspects of the report that have no doubt stuck out at first instance are that being the Probation Officers observation that the defendant expressed little remorse and that it was the Probation officers view that the defendant considered himself the victim. These are all part and parcel of the same issue. I am not going to second guess a PBNI officer who deals with these cases day in and out but I went over the findings of the report and asked the defendant about these issues and certainly to me he is unequivocal when it comes to the remorse he feels.
“He feels disgusted with himself and if he could go back to that night he would and he expresses regret of his involvement. It is difficult to see how this tie in with the assessment he has no remorse then. It is my own finding that when I go over the facts of the case that the defendant is deeply regretful of his behaviour. This is someone who has never been in trouble before, but he now sits in a criminal court on a charge of common assault.
“He is very close to his mother and is sitting listening to what it is he did on this night. This is a deep matter of regret and a deep matter of shame for him. It is not lost on him who the victim is in the case. The relationship is over and he has lost someone because of his own behaviour with zero possibility of reconciliation.”
Presiding the case District Judge Eamonn King stated:
“Mr Noden you have pleaded guilty in relation to three matters, Criminal Damage and Common Assault. When a presentence report is before the court one ordinarily looks at it to assist the court in reaching an appropriate disposal in respect of the crimes and the justice of the situation. In this matter there have been a number of issues within the report that that have been addressed by your defence council in respect of how you engaged with the probation officer in your preparation for the report.
“You have told the court that you express remorse and you do have the ability to exercise self-control. The fact to endorse this is that you have appeared in court only once before in relation to a motoring matter. In the context of the plea of guilty, the fact that there was only one motoring matter alone on your record and you have recognised that the amount of alcohol you have consumed on this occasion had an adverse impact on the way you behaved I am going to deal with this matter in the form of financial penalties only , but you must understand that you leave this court with two convictions for Criminal Damage and one for Common Assault.”
Liam Noden was ordered by Judge King to pay a fine of £200 in relation to the charges of Criminal Damage as well £250 in relation to the one incident of Common Assault as well as a £15 offenders levy to be paid within 16 weeks.
ENDS
CLANRYE NEWS 