Portadown man struggles to cope around anniversary of his uncle's murder in Lurgan, Craigavon court hears
A Co Armagh man struggles to cope around the anniversary of his uncle’s murder and his mother’s death, his barrister said before a judge sentenced the 26-year-old to nine months in jail.
Jason Whitla, of Edward Street, Portadown, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court via video link from Maghaberry Prison pleading guilty to seven charges of assault, as well as charges of criminal damage and disorderly behaviour.
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The court heard police attended a property at Hill Street, Lurgan at around 4.20am on December 27 last year following a report of an ‘aggressive male’ who had left the property just before officers arrived.
Around 10 minutes later Whitla showed up with ‘no top, a bloodshot and bruised eye, cuts on his hands’.
"He appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and possibly drugs,” the prosecutor said. “He told police, while shouting, that he’d been assaulted by a group of men prior to police arrival.”
Whitla then ‘became aggressive towards police, shouting and flailing his arms’.
He was put in handcuffs and ‘threatened to fight’ one of the constables and ‘attempted to head butt him’.
"The defendant was then taken to the ground where he began spitting at officers and kicked one officer striking him twice to the leg,” said the prosecutor.
A spit and bite guard were applied to the defendant however he managed to remove the spit guard and bit one of the constables on his calf breaking the skin ‘causing pain, requiring hospital treatment and antibiotics’.
He continued to fight with police striking another constable on the chin with his legs.
Due to Whitla’s injuries prior to police attendance, they took him to Craigavon Hospital in a cell van. While in the van he continued shouting, hitting his head off the cell walls, removed his spit guard and was spitting in the van.
In hospital he continued behaving aggressively and attempted to headbutt another constable. He continued to shout and swear causing distress to other patients and was brought back to the cell van due to his behaviour.
A constable opened the cell door in an attempt to calm him but Whitla spat directly into his face.
"The hospital staff could not treat him properly due to his aggression,” said the prosecutor.
Whitla’s barrister, Mr David McKeown, said: “This was a very difficult time of the year for him. It marked the anniversary of both his mother’s passing and his uncle’s murder. He struggles to cope with that.”
He said the defendant has a history of drug and mental health issues.
“What happened that night seems to be the perfect storm,” the barrister said, adding that Whitla had been self-medicating and was attacked by a group of men.
"He then felt the police were punishing him for being the victim and he reacted very badly,” the barrister said, adding that when Whitla sobered up he apologised to police.
District Judge Michael Ranaghan said the assaults were aggravated as police “were going about their duty”.
For the bite attack on one police officer Whitla was given a five-month jail term and four months for all of the other assaults on police, consecutive to the first sentence. For disorderly behaviour and criminal damage he was also jailed for four months to run concurrently –leaving a global sentence of nine months.