Man is acquitted of scissor attack
AJURY has acquitted a Runcorn barber over allegations he attacked a former unhappy customer with a pair of hairdressing scissors.
At Chester Crown Court on Friday, jurors found Jared Byrom, 27, of Willow Close, not guilty of Section 18 unlawful wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and Section 20 unlawful wounding.
The charges related to an incident at Pure Gym on Bridge Retail Park in Runcorn on the morning of Sunday, January 13, when the defendant had stabbed Casey Dorgan.
On the closing day of the three-day trial, Paul Wood, defence counsel, used his closing speech to attack the prosecution case, arguing that his client acted in self-defence after being rushed by Mr Dorgan in the male changing rooms.
Mr Wood said the only other witness to the incident itself was Frankie Thomas, a friend of Mr Dorgan’s who said he had seen the defendant grab and stab Mr Dorgan unprovoked, and therefore not impartial.
The defence barrister added that his client may have seemed calm to some witnesses but that did not mean he was calm in reality, and that it was possible to appear one way but feel another.
Mr Wood also sought to undermine the jurors’ confidence in the credibility of Mr Dorgan’s version of events.
First, he said Mr Dorgan had initially said that he provided the police with
all messages relating to his and Mr Byrom’s spat about a haircut Mr Dorgan had received at the defendant’s Jared & Co Barbers on Regent Street, in Runcorn, but that it later came to light Mr Dorgan had sent another message – the last recorded contact between the two – in which he said: “I will see you, Mouth.”
A final message sent by Mr Dorgan to the defendant following the initial spat in June last year had said the barber was ‘a clown and extremely rude’ and asked if the defendant really thought he would return to the barbershop so he can ‘f*** it up again you ferret’.
The trial heard that the defendant had sent the complainant a message in which he said he was the only bad review he had received out of 15,000 haircuts that year.
Mr Wood also argued that Mr Dorgan and his friend Mr Thomas must have seen Mr Byrom entering the gym and heading to the changing rooms in his bright orange jacket before they headed in. He said CCTV showed that Mr Dorgan and Mr Thomas’s workout only lasted around 25 minutes – not the 40-45 he said it did – and concluded with a set of five reps on one of the machines, which Mr Wood said was too short for someone who attended the gym four times a week and indicated he had cut his workout short.
Another aspect of the prosecution case – that Mr Dorgan had gone to the gym early because he was to take his father to the Everton FC game later that day, was rebutted by Mr Wood, who said the game was not until five hours later, which would have given them enough to time to attend a match abroad.
Another argument advanced by the prosecution barrister Philip Clemo was also disputed by Mr Wood, namely that his client had said only that he had been trimming his chest hair at the time of the incident but had also said he had been wearing his jumper, with Mr Wood noting that the defendant had gone on to clarify that he had only been preparing to trim his chest hair and that allowed for why he was holding his scissors in his palm rather than with fingers through the loops as though gripped for cutting.
Mr Wood cast doubt on the prosecution’s version of events that said Mr Thomas had gone to the changing rooms to splash water on his face – he said the complainant’s friend did not appear to be sweating while exercising and did not have a towel to wipe his face.
Mr Dorgan had told detectives that he was stabbed by someone he later realised to be Jared Byrom while he was talking to his friend Mr Thomas at the sink.
The defendant had said Mr Dorgan had run at him ‘throwing punches’ and that he did not realise he must have struck him with the scissors until afterwards when he saw blood and the complainant receiving assistance.
Jurors were sent out to deliberate at 11.44am on Friday, and returned their verdicts between 2.15pm and 3pm.
Mr Dorgan had alleged that he felt something ‘like a punch’ while he was talking to his friend next ● to the male changing room sinks, and realised he had been stabbed when he put his hand to his side and ‘there was blood pumping all over my hand and all over my side’.
Recorder Stan Reiz presided during the case. Number 1 Installer Of Replacement Conservatory Roofs in Widnes • 10 Years Insurance
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