The court heard how the incident happened in the Harbour Lights on an evening in May.
Matthew Edward Papworth, 41, of no fixed address, and Atanas Toshev, 43, of Rue de la Villette, St Martin’s, admitted assaulting Martin Vasic. Vasic, 34, who appeared from custody, admitted behaving in a disorderly manner. The court heard how Vasic had been goading Toshev for not being local.
Papworth pushed Vasic to the floor and punched him while he was down. Toshev threw a bar stool in Vasic’s direction and poured half a pint of beer over him.
For Papworth, Advocate David Domaille said his client had been subject to sustained and severe abuse from Vasic, and racial provocation. He had initially been trying to keep the peace.
For Toshev, Advocate Sarah Morgan said her client had not sought to minimise his behaviour and accepted the prosecution case.
For Vasic, Advocate Candy Fletcher said her client accepted what could be seen on the CCTV and what independent witnesses had said. Vasic also admitted behaving in a disorderly manner on consecutive days in the Lower Vauvert area.
This had involved racially abusing other people and was captured on audio that was played to the court.
About a fortnight later, when arrested in connection to an unrelated matter, he put his custody safety clothes in a cell toilet and urinated on them. That attracted a criminal damage charge, which he also admitted.
Judge Gary Perry told Toshev that he accepted there had been substantial provocation in his case, but it was no excuse for the way he had behaved. He was so drunk he had not even left the scene. He ordered him to perform 120 hours of community service as a direct alternative to four months in prison.
Papworth had once been a regular before the court but this was his first appearance for five years. He would be given the opportunity to continue the excellent progress he had made since then and a prison sentence of four months, suspended for two years, was meted, along with a suspended sentence supervision order of one year.
Vasic was a ‘constant thorn in the side of the criminal justice system’, said the judge.
He had been a regular before the court for decades and it showed no sign of stopping.
His behaviour of late seemed to have turned to vile racial abuse, which would not be tolerated by the court.
He was jailed for two months for the incident in the pub, and two months, consecutive for the first incident in Lower Vauvert. One month, consecutive, was handed down for the second incident in Lower Vauvert and one month, concurrent, for the criminal damage.
It took the total penalty to five months in prison.
