A man who punched his wife following a “heated argument” has been sentenced to a month in prison.
The 34-year-old’s solicitor told court how his client had remained in custody since the commission of the offence having been unable to obtain bail.
Csaba Stoica, of Portmore Street in Portadown, pleaded guilty to common assault, driving whilst disqualified and using a vehicle without insurance at Craigavon Magistrates’ Court on Friday, via videolink from Maghaberry.
Prosecution outlined that on October 18, at 5.30pm, police were contacted by the injured party through a friend, and she reported that she had been assaulted by her partner, the defendant.
Officers attended the home address of the injured party. She explained through an interpreter that Stoica had punched her to the right eye following an argument.
It was established by police that the defendant, who had been disqualified from driving on July 30, had left the address in a Mercedes car.
He later returned to the property and was subsequently arrested. During interview he claimed to have pushed the injured party, stating that he may have hit her eye, and admitted to driving.
Prosecution informed the court that no ancillary applications were being sought as the parties had since reconciled.
Defence solicitor Peter Murphy asked that his client was given credit for the way in which he had met the matter.
He stated: “It was a heated argument which led to this matter being before your worship… as for the driving, he instructs that he left the house to go to Tesco which is a short distance away.”
Mr Murphy added that the defendant had been in custody since the date of the offence having been unable to obtain bail.
Deputy District Judge Laura Ivers said that she believed the custody threshold had been crossed but noted Stoica’s “limited record”.
The defendant was sentenced to one month in custody and was disqualified from driving for a period of six months.
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