“Drunk” man fined for slapping bouncer

Thursday 08 June 2017

A Jersey Magistrate has praised the “difficult job” of local doormen after handing down a £1,000 fine to a man who slapped a bouncer who denied him entry to a club for being too drunk.

Local labourer Richard Alan Stephen Cousins was formally ordered by the Magistrates Court to keep out of trouble for 12 months after being caught in possession of Class C drugs.

But the 36-year-old broke that order on 13 May this year after his drunkenness led to two separate incidents, leading to charges of common assault and a breach of the peace. 

Denied entry to a town club, Mr Cousins was said to have “slapped” the doorman before walking away.

Just minutes later, he became embroiled in a separate altercation – a “scrap in the street” with an unidentified man, in which “punching and wrestling” was involved.

In handing down his sentence, Magistrate Peter Harris lauded the bouncer for having, “…made the right call” and praised the “difficult job” of those in such a role, who he described as, “…almost in the position of a public servant.”

Warning Cousins, he added: “You’re not a young man anymore… Think about how much you drink.”

Cousins was subsequently fined £1,000 for the assault in lieu of a three-week prison sentence and bound over for a further 12 months for having breached the peace.