90 hours community service for eyebrow biter

Wednesday 07 December 2016

A 20-year-old man appeared in Magistrate's Court for sentencing yesterday after he bit another man during an early hours brawl in St Helier.

Jose Andre Vieira Gouveia, who is originally from Portugal but has been living in Jersey since 2008, appeared with the assistance of an interpreter.

The court heard that at 2.15 am on 3 September of this year, Police responded to reports of a fight taking place West's Centre. 

They found two men brawling, one of whom was bleeding considerably from his left eyebrow.

While the victim initially refused to cooperate with Police, Centenier Philip Coffey said he eventually told them "that guy there bit me on the eyebrow". The victim - who also appeared at the Parish Hall to face charges in connection with the fight - was taken to hospital as a result of his injuries.

His eyebrow required stitches and he was kept at hospital overnight.

Appearing for Gouveia, Advocate James Bell noted that during the fight, both men has sustained injuries. "There was an element of provocation," Mr Bell said, adding that the other man had thrown the first punch while Gouveia sat on a bench.

And he said Gouveia, who had no previous offences and was assessed as low risk for re-offending, recognised that alcohol had played a serious role leading up to the assault. As such, he has voluntarily abstained from alcohol since that time. 

Acting Magistrate Peter Harris sentenced Gouveia to 90 hours of community service. While he did not impose a ban on visiting licensed premises, he warned: "You are old enough to drink and I am not saying you should not drink. What I am saying is you must be careful how much you drink, where you go and what you do,

"Perhaps not going out late at night would be a good thing all around but when you do go out, you must be very, very careful."