Ballymena train driver slammed 'axe' into neighbour's door following 'car parking dispute'
A train driver smashed an 'axe' into the door of a neighbour's home after a court was told there had been a dispute about car parking spaces.
He appeared at Ballymena Magistrates Court on Thursday and pleaded guilty to charges of assault, causing criminal damage to a door and possessing an 'axe' as an offensive weapon.
A neighbour told police there had been a "verbal altercation" with the defendant "over parking spaces" on April 25.
A prosecutor said the defendant – Robert Michael Carleton (58), of Waveney Road, Ballymena – allegedly pushed the man twice before both returned to their addresses.
The court was told: "A short time later his doorbell sounded and the injured party answered the door to find the defendant standing there in possession of an axe. The injured party immediately closed the door and heard three loud bangs on his door."
There was "superficial damage" to the door. Police spoke to the defendant and found an axe in his living room.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said: "So, the defendant pushes the victim twice. The victim goes home, closes the door and then this defendant appears at his front door with an axe and then hits the door three times with the axe."
A defence solicitor said it was an "out of character" incident.
She said Carleton said he had "banged his head" after falling during the "altercation" and perhaps because of that he was not "in the best state of mind" and now accepts it was "utterly inappropriate" to have lifted a "small hatchet" of the type used to chop wood.
The lawyer said he was "extremely apologetic".
The court was told he is a train driver and had been in that "position of responsibility" for a long time. She said he had a "very, very, minor record from quite some time ago".
Judge Broderick told the defendant: "I don't know what was going through your mind but to approach anyone's door with an axe, small or big makes no real material difference, would have caused, no doubt, the victim serious concern for understandable reasons".
He said the defendant had a "limited record" and there had been a guilty plea, and he suspended the three months sentence for two years. A two-year Restraining Order was also put in place.