Thug who battered man banned from every bar in county
A THUG who “spear-tackled” a fellow pub customer to the floor and repeatedly punched him in the face has been banned from every pub in an entire county.
Julio Waters has a long history of violence in bars, and has now been banned from all licensed premises in Neath Port Talbot.
Swansea Crown Court heard the assault took place in Merlin’s pub in Neath town centre on the afternoon of August 31 last year.
Dean Pulling, prosecuting, said Waters and his brother were among a number of drinkers in the bar at around 5.30pm when violence erupted.
The court heard Waters exchanged words with a man sitting at the bar. It is not known exactly what was said but “without warning” Waters punched his victim in the face. The vicitm was knocked backwards and retreated to the area by the pool table.
The prosecutor said Waters followed his victim, grabbed him, and “spear-tackled” him to the floor. The defendant then delivered around a dozen punches to his face in
quick succession as he lay on the floor.
The bloodied and bruised victim made his way home but the following day was still in pain and went to hospital. He was subsequently diagnosed with multiple fractures to the nose, damage to his cheeks and eye sockets, and a loosened tooth.
The personal trainer and roofer was interviewed on November 30 and admitted hitting the man but said he had been threatened by his victim and had feared for his life.
Waters, 34, of Bevan Avenue, Cadoxton, Neath, had previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.
The court heard he has 11 previous convictions for 19 offences, including four for offences of violence and three for public order matters, mostly committed in pubs in Neath.
In 2009 he punched a man to the floor in Neath Workingmen’s Club and kicked him unconscious; in 2014 he and his brother were involved in violent disorder at Neath’s Ambassador Hotel; in 2016 he butted a man in the face and gouged his
eyes on a train between Neath and Skewen, an incident which also involved his brother; in 2016 he punched a man in the face in Neath’s David Protheroe pub; and in 2019 he assaulted a doorman at the Big Cam pub, again in Neath, after being barred.
Hannah George, for Waters, said the defendant was “extremely ashamed” of his behaviour in Merlin’s. She said her client acknowledges that the way he behaves when in drink is unacceptable, and is committed to changing his life. To this end, she said Waters had been sober for the past nine months.
Judge Huw Rees described Waters as a “thug”, and said he did not believe for one moment that he had feared for his life when he launched the attack.
Giving the defendant a one-third discount for his guilty plea, the judge sentenced him to 18 months in prison. Waters will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence.
Judge Rees also made Waters the subject of a licensed premises exclusion order which bans him from all bars, pubs and clubs in Neath Port Talbot.