An Armagh man who punched another male over a “parking dispute” has been handed a conditional discharge.
The district judge told the 23-year-old: “This was an outrageous incident in which you lost the run of yourself.”
Michael Joseph Coulter, of Navan Street, pleaded guilty to common assault at Armagh Magistrates’, sitting at Newry, on Tuesday.
Prosecution outlined that on February 3, police received a report of an assault in Armagh city centre.
It was claimed that this defendant had punched another male twice to the face, leaving him with bruising around his left eye, following a dispute over parking.
Coulter admitted to striking the injured party on the cheek but claimed this had been in self defense after he had been hit first.
Defence counsel stated that this defendant had been travelling as a passenger, with his father driving, through a congested Armagh city centre.
He outlined that the injured party had been trying to reverse into a parking space and Coulter’s father was unable to move any further back.
The barrister said: “The injured party opened his window and began waving and shouting. The defendant took this as an act of aggression towards his father, who at the time had stage three throat cancer.
“He was overprotective of his father and overreacted.”
District Judge Paul Copeland stated: “This was an outrageous incident in which you lost the run of yourself. This man was in his car with his seatbelt on. There was no risk of your father being injured.
“But I am going to give you the opportunity to show that you can behave yourself.”
Coulter was handed a conditional discharge for two years and was ordered to pay compensation of £300 to the injured party.
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