Threw glass in Town bar which hit man in the face

Wayne Diamond had pleaded guilty to unlawfully and maliciously wounding the man at Absinthe Bar, North Plantation, on 16 December last year.

CCTV footage was shown to the court in which the victim could be seen arriving at the bar while Diamond was talking to other men.

Some insulting comments had been made by others about Diamond’s girlfriend which had angered him, said Advocate Jenny McVeigh, prosecuting.

Among the men talking to Diamond were the victim’s friends and he, too, became involved.

As the discussion turned heated, the man’s glasses were knocked off and soon afterwards he was hit in the face by the glass thrown by Diamond. It caused a small fracture to the victim’s nose and a cut requiring eight stitches. He had incurred medical expenses and lost income as a result of the injury.

In a victim impact statement, he said his doctor had told him he had all the signs of post-traumatic stress disorder and he had struggled since the incident.

Diamond had 18 previous convictions, four of acts against a person.

Advocate Paul Lockwood, defending, said his client felt significant remorse over what had happened and would willingly pay the victim’s medical expenses and any other compensation imposed.

He had thrown the glass in the heat of the moment but had not intended to hit the victim. Even so, it was accepted that the act was a reckless, over-the-top reaction which could not be justified.

Diamond had first been sent to prison at 14, he said, on remand among the ‘maelstrom’ of the open prison population, which was not a good place for a vulnerable youngster.

He had become guarded about his behaviour, with an ever-present impression that risk lay around every corner and that everyone was a potential threat.

As he had got older his temperament had become more stable, but in extremis situations of ‘fight or flight’ he could over-react.

Letters from Diamond’s grandfather, mother and from the defendant himself were handed to the court.

Passing sentence, Judge Catherine Fooks said Diamond had drunk far too much on that night.

He had been assessed as being at a high risk of reoffending and was considered a danger to the public.

‘The Guernsey public does not tolerate this kind of violence,’ she said.

As well as the prison sentence, Diamond will be subject to a three-year probation order.

While no formal compensation order was made, the court encouraged him to make some payment.