Suspended sentence for assault against his cousin

Nathan Meehan, whose address was as Damien House, pleaded guilty to a charge of common assault on August 27, last year.

The Court heard Meehan kicked his cousin in the head during an incident in the city centre.

He ran off before returning a short time later and punching the injured party to the back of his head four or five times.

The Court heard that the following day, Meehan told the injured party: “I will break your nose. You wee w***** you got me locked up last night. I am going to break your neck and kill you when you are on your own”.

The court was told the injured party did not sustain any injuries that required medical attention as a result of the assault.

Defending, Maeliosa Barr said the injured party had posted information on a social networking site which put Meehan “in difficulty with members of the community”.

He said his client and the injured party “had words” about this and it led to the assault.

Mr Barr said the two were now back on speaking terms and there was no ill feeling between them. He said Meehan had a number of difficulties, was living in a hostel and had been drinking quite heavily on the day in question.

District Judge Peter King imposed a two-month jail term, suspended for a year and told Meehan he was giving him an opportunity to put this behind him.

He warned him a prison sentence was almost inevitable if he re-offended.