Community service for "unwarranted" churchyard assault

Wednesday 12 December 2018

A carpenter who grabbed a man by the neck and punched him several times in a churchyard has been ordered to carry out 120 hours' community service, and pay his victim £888 in compensation.

Emmanuel Jose de Nobrega Agrela (39) was also put on probation for six months and ordered to stay away from licensed premises for the next three months after the post-night out attack.

He appeared in the Magistrate's Court to be sentenced for what the Magistrate described as an "unacceptable assault" yesterday.

Legal Advisor Susie Sharpe told Court that the incident happened in the early hours of 25 August. Agrela and the victim had been in the Havana Club before the incident, although separately. They met outside the club shortly after leaving around 02:00. The victim approached Agrela, who was with two friends, to greet him. "It is clear that there was tension between the two men," Ms Sharpe said.

Pictured: The incident took place in St. Luke's churchyard.

The victim stayed around the group for a while before walking away. At this point, the Court heard that Agrela grabbed him by the arm and refused to let go. The victim eventually broke free and walked away. The victim stayed in the area and Ms Sharpe said Agrela could be seen on CCTV watching the other man, "most noticeably when he leaves the precinct."

She said Agrela was aggressive in his body language and started following the victim as he walked away. CCTV images show the victim gesturing to Agrela to go away as they walked up the road to Snow Hill.  Later on, they stopped to urinate in St. Luke's churchyard, at which point Agrela grabbed the victim by the neck, dragging him to the floor before punching him. He then left the scene and walked back towards town.

The man was left with bruising to his eye and face, as well as deep scratches on his neck. The court heard that Agrela must have dug his finger into the victim's neck to create such a deep scratch.

When interviewed by Police, Agrela said he hadn't spoken to the other man in four years. He said the man had been abusive to him all night, something the victim himself admitted, saying he had been "bad mouthing" Agrela.

Pictured: Advocate Luke Sette urged Court to not jail Agrela.

When asked why he would walk with someone he never liked and who was abusive, Agrela said he had agreed because the victim was drunk. He denied walking with the victim towards Georgetown so he could "sort him out". Ms Sharpe said she didn't agree with this version, stating that Agrela had no reason to remain in the man's company, and described the assault as having a "premeditated element".

Advocate Luke Sette, defending, urged the Magistrate to put Agrela on probation to allow him "to build on the stability he has developed for himself". He said his client regretted the way he had acted.

Asked by the Court to explain why Agrela had broken a previous community service order, Advocate Sette said the circumstances were different now that Agrela had a job, having started his own carpentry business six months ago. "He knows that is a chance and he knows that, if squandered, it will lead to the result that happened last time," he added. 

Magistrate Bridget Shaw described the incident as "unwarranted violence" with "no justification". "You simply have no right to inflict violence on another human being." She later called for Agrela to control his behaviour, stating: "We sometimes see this sort of behaviour in younger or foolish people."

Pictured: Magistrate Bridget Shaw told Agrela he should control himself at 39.

The Magistrate warned Agrela she had seriously considered sending him to prison for this act of "gratuitous violence", adding that it was fortunate the man's injuries hadn't been serious given that Agrela grabbed him by the neck, "a vulnerable part of somebody’s body".

Instead, she decided to impose 120 hours' community service and a six-month probation order to give Agrela the opportunity to keep his job, remain in the community and pay compensation to the victim. She warned him that if he didn't comply with the order, he would almost inevitably end up in jail. "The court won't be able to tolerate this behaviour much longer," she told him. He will also have to pay £888 in compensation to the victim.

Magistrate Shaw also warned Agrela that the Court could consider deportation if he reoffended, saying: "You do not have an unlimited entitlement to remain here."