A Portuguese man who head butted the manageress of a Sheffield restaurant was given a five month suspended sentence, a £500 fine and 240 hours community service at Sheffield Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
Forty-eight-year-old Gabriel Ambrosio Dias had drunk a bottle of red wine and a shot of whiskey before arriving at Cubana Tapas Bar on Trippet Lane on the evening of Sunday 29th April 2007. Manager Monika DaCosta claimed she asked him to leave because he was barred but he became irritated and abusive. Witnesses saw Dias escorted off the premises only to barge back in and head butt DaCosta in the face, knocking her back against a wall.
The court saw the victim break into tears as she described the incident. She suffered a burst lip, a bump to her head and a bruised arm. DaCosta said that her facial injuries – including a broken tooth – have affected her speech and lost her confidence.
Dias, of Washington Road, Sheffield, pleaded not guilty to the charge of assault causing actual bodily harm insisting the collision with the victim’s face was accidental and that he did not intend to hurt her, “because of our friendship.”
Mr Wetton, prosecuting, said it was unlikely that Dias - at six feet and two inches tall – could have accidentally head butted Miss DaCosta who is much shorter. “It would have to be quite a drop forward for you to hit her mouth. You collided with so much force as to injure her,” he said.
Mr Sandford, defending, said there is no question that there was a collision. “We need surety that it was done with hostile intent and was not accidental,” he said.
In delivering the guilty verdict, bench chairman Mr Griffiths said there were inconsistencies in Mr Dias’ story and there was credible evidence that Monika DaCosta sustained serious injuries. “This offence is so serious only custody is justified,” he said.
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