Romantic night in hotel ends in a violent dispute
A COUPLE’S romantic Loughborough hotel stay to patch up their troubled relationship ended in bloodshed and tears, a court heard.
Instead of blissful reconciliation and a night of passion, the girlfriend was beaten up and had to be rescued by the receptionist.
Her drunken lover then fled the scene - after ramming his car into a security van that was trying to stop him driving off.
At Leicester Crown Court, 41-year-old Adrian Excel admitted causing actual bodily harm to his former partner, on the basis she provoked him by painfully grabbing his private parts, resulting in a loss of temper.
He also admitted damaging a security van and failing to report the collision, in the early hours of Sunday, October 13.
Alexander Wolfson, prosecuting, said: “The defendant had been in a relationship with the complainant and the purpose of their meeting on Saturday, October 12, was to mend that relationship.
“They decided to stay at The Link Hotel, Ashby Road, Loughborough, where a room was booked for the night.”
They went out and visited various pubs in the town before returning in the early hours.
“Two security guards from the nearby university were patrolling the car park when the couple arrived by taxi,” said the prosecutor.
He added: “It was quite obvious both were the worse for drink.
“Something happened outside the hotel involving her grabbing him by the face, by the chin.
“They were, quite obviously, having an argument, even at that stage.”
Mr Wolfson said: “A short while later the receptionist was alerted to a disturbance.
“She went to the defendant’s room where the complainant was calling out for help.
“The receptionist pulled her out as the defendant tried to pull her back in.
“The complainant was bloodied, bruised and obviously distressed.
“She was taken downstairs and the defendant left the hotel room and got into his car.”
The 40-year-old victim, from Loughborough, suffered two black eyes, a lump to the left side of her face and back of her head, scratches and bruising on her arms.
Recounting what happened, she told the police that “everything was fine” and they were happily chatting away when “all of a sudden” the defendant began arguing with her and slapped her across the face.
She said in her statement: “I remember punching him to get him off me and a few seconds later I was on the floor.”
The victim claimed that during the frightening attack: “I told him, ‘Just get it over with and kill me now’.
“I was in so much pain.” The woman said Excel was sitting on her, pinning me to the floor, and calling her vile names.
She also described how Excel had stuck his finger into her throat.
Excel’s defence barrister maintained there was a degree of provocation from the complainant and an element of self-defence by his client.
Mr Wolfson said: “One of the security guards blocked the defendant’s car with his van, by parking across the exit, because they knew he was drunk and shouldn’t be driving.
“The defendant said, ‘Are you going to move your van?’
“The guard refused and went to the hotel reception.
“The defendant then deliberately rammed the van out of the way so he could drive off.
“It’s not known the value of the damage caused to the rear of the van.”
Mr Wolfson said that when Excel was arrested, some time later, he was “as co-operative as one could expect” and gave “a full account”.
Judge Philip Head told Excel: “You and the lady in question had been in some sort of relationship that got into some sort of trouble.
“You agreed to meet and booked a hotel room and went out.
“On your return you were seen arguing outside the hotel and she seized you by the chin.
“In the room the arguing continued and it moved to a tussle.
“There appears to have been some violence by her and she seized you by the testicles and you overreacted in a substantial way.
“You got her on the floor and were sitting on her, slapping her and put your finger hard down her throat.
“She was heard screaming and was pulled out of the room.
“You say it was a mixture of provocation and self-defence - but it’s aggravated by the fact you were drunk and by your (criminal) record.”
The judge said Excel’s solution to being blocked in the hotel car park was to use his car as a “battering ram” to knock the security van out of his way, when no-one was in it.
He added: “Had you been stopped on your way home, it would no doubt have been a right royal reading from the breathalyser.”
Judge Head said Excel had 42 offences on his criminal record including violence and traffic offences.
In April 2018 Excel was jailed for 18 months for assault with intent to resist arrest.
Nenad Spasojevic, mitigating, said: “The complainant suffered superficial bruises and scratches and didn’t seek medical treatment.
“The damage to the van speaks for itself; there was a lapse of judgement by getting in his car, clouded by what happened in the hotel room.
“He’s been on remand in custody since October.”
Excel, of Shortfen, Orton Malborne, Peterborough, was jailed for 47 weeks and banned from driving for 66 weeks.