A MILFORD HAVEN man has appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates for sentence after assaulting a man in the town centre.
Liam Roberts, 30, of Marble Hall Road, Milford Haven appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates this morning (Tuesday) when he admitted assaulting Tyrone McGungle, causing him actual bodily harm.
The attack took place at around 8pm on July 25, 2022, as Mr McGungle was standing in a bus stop, adjacent to the Tesco store in Milford Haven.
He saw the defendant approach him, shouting abuse and threatening that Mr McGungle was ‘going to have it’.
“He started laying into me,” said Mc McGungle in a victim statement read out to Haverfordwest magistrates.
“He threw his right arm back, clenched his fist and hit me to the left side of my head. I’d been sitting on the small bench in the bus stop and I curled up in a ball, but the defendant brought his knee up and carried on punching and kneeing me.”
Mr McGungle said the attack continued for between three and five minutes.
“I then saw his feet walking backwards, but he ran back and kicked me full force in the head.”
Crown Prosecutor Kelly Rivers outlined the injuries sustained by Mr McGungle during the attack. These comprised bruising to the left side of his face, small cuts and swelling to his right eye, restricted movement and pain to his lower jaw, a lump to his head and pain to his ribs whenever he inhaled.
“After the attack, I became scared to leave my house,” continued Tyrone McGungle in his victim impact statement.
“I always had to have someone with me, to make sure I was ok.
“I don’t know why he did this to me as I’d never seen him before in my life.”
Mr McGungle’s comments were endorsed by a victim impact statement submitted by his girlfriend.
“The whole incident has made me angry, because there was nothing I could do to protect my boyfriend,” she said.
The offence was carried out whilst Roberts was subject to a community order which magistrates had imposed for a previous offence.
Liam Roberts was represented in court by solicitor Mr Michael Kelleher who said the attack was the result of his client’s concern over drug dealing that had allegedly been taking place opposite his mother’s home in Milford Haven.
“The reason this offence took place is because the defendant was concerned that Mr McGungle had been dealing drugs opposite his mother’s house,” he said.
“This wasn’t a planned attack. He’d had too much to drink and came across the victim in a bus stop. It was a spur of the moment decision.”
Mr Kelleher added that several of Mr McGungle’s friends were standing in the vicinity of the incident, however they did nothing to intervene when the attack took place.
Meanwhile probation officer Julie Norman informed magistrates that Liam Roberts’ alcohol dependency is a major factor in his offending, given that he drinks between 15 and 20 cans a day.
“This leads me to question how someone who drinks that amount of alcohol daily can hold down a full-time job between 7am and 7pm,” she added.
Earlier in the hearing magistrates learnt that Roberts is currently employed at a potato farm in St Ishmaels.
After considering the evidence, Roberts was sentenced to 18 weeks in custody. He was ordered to pay £200 compensation to Tyrone McGungle and a £154 court surcharge. He was also subjected to a two-year restraining order.
“The offence was so serious that only a custodial sentenced is justified,” commented the presiding magistrate.
“This was an unprovoked attack fueled by alcohol, in a public place.”
