Alcoholic slashed man’s neck with broken glass
AN ALCOHOLIC slashed a man’s neck with broken glass in a pub after becoming paranoid.
David Robinson, 44, became aggressive and threatened to kill a group of drinkers at the Colliers’ Arms pub in Aberkenfig, Bridgend, on August 8, having become convinced he heard people talking about him behind his back.
He had earlier told the bar manager he had considered taking his own life and had visited a bridge just hours earlier, after being accused of child sex offences. But his demeanour changed after returning from the toilets and he got involved in an altercation with Benjamin Kinsey who he slashed with a broken glass stump.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court heard Robinson was caught on CCTV walking behind the bar and throwing glasses at customers before making himself a drink.
Prosecutor Richard Ace said the defendant attended the bar at 9pm, and was living in a flat above the Colliers’ Arms at the time of the incident.
He initially appeared to be in good humour but became subdued shortly before midnight.
Having told manager Tom Pound about his suicidal feelings, he went to the toilet but returned with an “evil expression” on his face and appeared to be intoxicated.
He sat opposite Mr Kinsey’s party and shouted at them, “I heard everything you just said, none of you have any f****** idea”. Despite the party’s protestation they had not been speaking about him, Robinson began slamming a glass on the table until it smashed and shards flew across the room.
The defendant then approached Mr Kinsey and two women, backed them into a corner and continued issuing threats, including “I’ll f****** kill you, you think I am joking, you think I am f****** funny?”
Mr Kinsey tried to control the situation and tried to appease Robinson, but the defendant swung at him a number of times with the glass and hit him in the neck, causing a laceration to the upper right area.
The victim and his friends then hid in the toilets as Robinson walked behind the bar, threw a bottle at them and started making another drink.
Landlord Mark Jones arrived and tried to engage with him but the defendant threatened to “smash him in the head” with a bottle of vodka.
He threw a punch at Mr Jones, but the landlord was able to restrain him.
Police arrived and were forced to brandish their Taser before Robinson was placed in handcuffs and arrested. He was later interviewed and told police he was intoxicated and had vague recollections of the incident. The defendant, of no fixed abode, later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and affray.
In mitigation, Josh Scouller said his client accepted what happened and now accepts he is an alcoholic.
He said Robinson had become depressed and isolated after allegations of sexually assaulting a child had been made against him, and he is still waiting for a decision from the Crown Prosecution Service about whether court proceedings will be brought against him, having been released under investigation.
Sentencing, Recorder Paul Hopkins QC said: “This was a disturbing and alarming course of offending.
“The court will not tolerate behaviour of this kind in licensed premises.”
Robinson was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment.