A 25-year-old man, who punched and beat his mother before throwing her down stairs and choking her, also faced serious drug charges at Craigavon court.

Nathan Amor, aged 25, from Queen Street, Lurgan appeared via video link from Maghaberry Prison before Craigavon Magistrates Court on Friday and in the first set of charges, dating November 28 last year, he was accused of possessing cannabis, cocaine and pregabalin.

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Craigavon Courthouse. Picture: National World.

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In a second set of charges, the defendant was accused of non-fatal strangulation and common assault on April 3 this year.

On April 3 this year police went to house in Queen’s Street amid reports of a man pinning a woman to the ground and choking her.

"When police arrived the injured party was tearful and they observed injuries to her face and arms. Her nose was noticeably swollen and bloodied and her left eye had a red mark. She had abrasions on her arms and legs. She also had a clump of hair in her hand,” said the Prosecutor.

“She said her son, the defendant, had an argument and had beaten her, punched her and pushed her down the stairs. She said he also grabbed her by the throat for a few seconds causing her to be unable to breath.”

The Prosecutor added: “It is alleged this argument has spilled out onto the street where he continued to assault her.”

The court also heard on November 28 last year police attended Hoop Hill Park area of Lurgan after reports of an unresponsive male. People at the house identified the defendant and said he’d arrived a short time earlier and collapsed in the bedroom.

An ambulance was called and paramedics administered Narcan to bring him round. He was later searched outside the property and a number of substances were found. He was brought to Craigavon Area Hospital for treatment.

Amor’s barrister Mr Conor Lunny said: “There’s nothing I can say to mitigate the facts. It is probably the most serious type of case these courts now deal with.”

Mr Lunny said it was “quite sad” as the victim was his client’s mother. He said he had dealt with Amor for many years and his mother has always been a “constant support”.

"She came into him. He lives in Lurgan and she lives in Portadown. There had been drink involved and clearly an argument ensued. A worse than unsavoury incident unfolded in broad daylight in the middle of Lurgan. I understand two independent witnesses drove by and reported the matter to police.”

Regarding the drugs, Mr Lunny said his client has a “long standing” addiction to cannabis. “Regrettably this is his first foray into the Class A category.”

He said the Class A was cocaine, the Class B was cannabis and the Class C was pregabalin. “As Your Worship knows there’s really quite an epidemic around this part of the world in respect of Class Cs, those pregabalins”

District Judge Michael Ranaghan sentenced Amor to seven months in jail for the non-fatal strangulation and for the common assault he was given a five months sentence, both to run concurrently.

For possession of Class B, he was given a two months jail sentence, Class A possession he got four months and the Class C he got two months jail – these to run concurrently.