Suspended jail sentence for Co Tyrone man who headbutted work colleague on the nose
A Co Tyrone factory worker who headbutted a work colleague causing his nose to bleed for approximately two hours, was handed a five-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Dungannon Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Passing sentence District Judge Francis Rafferty told Bernardino Alves, from Elm Court in Dungannon, that he had acted disproportionately and over-the-top.
Alves was charged with assaulting the man, thereby causing him actual bodily harm, on November 21 last year.
Prosecuting counsel explained the incident arose when the injured party had complained to Alves that he had not moved pallets that he had asked him to move earlier.
She said the injured party told him he would report him to management to which the defendant said if he was going to be reported, he would give him something to complain about and headbutted him on the nose.
Continuing, counsel said the injured party suffered a cut to his nose which he said bled for approximately two hours after the incident. The lawyer added that Alvis later apologised for the incident.
A defence lawyer said there had been “no justification for his action”. He described Alvis as a hardworking man who had been working 12-hour shifts at the time of the incident.
The lawyer said this had put him under a considerable amount of stress. He added that the defendant had since changed his employment to one with more manageable hours.
Imposing the suspended jail sentence, Judge Rafferty ordered Alves to pay the injured party £500 compensation.