"Spur of the moment" headbutt earns clubgoer community service

Thursday 31 May 2018

A 25-year-old man with an "appalling record" who headbutted another man at the Weighbridge has been sentenced to 140 hours' Community Service and put under probation for nine months.

Joshua James Crabtree appeared at the Magistrate's Court on Tuesday facing one charge of grave and criminal assault and one of being disorderly on premises.

Setting out the facts before the Court, Legal Adviser Susie Sharpe said that between 23:00 and 00:00 on 5 May, Crabtree was at Ce Soir nightclub. He started talking with a woman who was celebrating a birthday with friends. While the woman said at first the conversation was of no concern, she started feeling uncomfortable as Crabtree got closer. One of her male friends approached her and asked her if she was ok.

The Court heard that at this point, Crabtree became aggressive towards both the man and the woman. Shortly after the man spoke to bouncers outside the Royal Yacht and told them Crabtree had headbutted him.

When Police officers arrived, they arrested Crabtree who said he had done nothing wrong. The Court heard that while he was being arrested, he told one of his friends, "Get him that lad, the one who is sitting down, not when the police are here," while pointing at the victim. 

Ms Sharpe told Court that Crabtree had a number of previous convictions, including 15 for assaults, six of which were of a 'grave and criminal' nature. She added that Crabtree had been released recently after being sentenced to 18 months in prison by Royal Court for a grave and criminal assault. He had assaulted a 20-year-old woman on two occasions, hitting her across the face and biting her.

Pictured: Crabtree met the victim inside Ce Soir, while talking to one of his friends.

Advocate Michael Haines told Court that Crabtree's bad record couldn't be denied. "He must choose if he is going to have a purposeful and meaningful life," he said. "When he doesn’t drink alcohol he can do wonderful things... He understands that the path he wishes to choose is away from custody."

Advocate Haines said Crabtree had the support of his family. He also explained that Crabtree had personality issues and complex needs. "He needs to manage those complex needs... And taking alcohol and drugs does not manage those needs."

He said Crabtree was 100% committed to undertaking Community Service and working with the Probation Service. He claimed that Crabtree agreed to an exclusion order from licensed premises, as he understood that alcohol was "part of the problem not the solution." "Mr Crabtree seeks to manage the anger issues he has," he added.

Advocate Haines concluded his address saying that Crabtree's head butt had been single blow, which had not been premeditated but instead done in the "spur of the moment."

Pictured: Crabtree had recently been released from prison for a grave and criminal assault on a woman.

Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris told Crabtree that if he continued to behave in such a way, he would end up in Court again. He added: "[The victim] did nothing aggressive towards you. [The woman you were speaking to] she did not do anything aggressive towards you. Yet out of the blue this happened... You have an appalling record. You can’t change that record but you can add to it and that is what you are doing."

He noted that the injuries suffered from the victim were not especially severe and that he had basically made a full recovery. However he said it was apparent the assault had caused the moment "considerable difficulty at work." He said that hopefully the embarrassment and the pain suffered would only be short term.

The Assistant Magistrate said that there were a small number of mitigating factors, including Crabtree's guilty plea. He noted that the assault had been a "single blow head butt." "You were drunk," he told Crabtree. "I assume some other of your convictions involved alcohol. Until you get to grips with the way it affects you, you will find yourself going back to court and losing jobs."

He told Crabtree that the assault crossed the custodial threshold and that he was in fact facing an eight-month sentence. However, he ended up opting for a Community Service order of 140 hours.

The 25-year-old has also been put under probation for nine months and excluded from licensed premises for six months.