A Narberth man has been cleared of racially aggravated common assault, but pleaded guilty to charges of assault and criminal damage.
Twenty-seven-year-old Carlon Elvis Craig, of Townmoor, went on trial at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Monday, accused of assaulting his neighbour, Robert Young, by beating on December 13, with the offence racially aggravated.
At the trial, Mr. Craig changed his previous plea of not guilty for two other charges, admitting a charge of assault and criminal damage.
He also pleaded guilty to a further charge of criminal damage at the premises.
Prosecutor Rhian Thomas told the court that the complainant, Robert Young, was returning to his flat when his neighbour, Mr. Craig, asked him if he could help him get into his property next door.
“Mr. Craig appeared to be drunk, and Mr. Young tried the key in the door, but it wouldn’t unlock. Mr. Craig then kicked down his own door and invited his neighbour into the flat,” Ms. Thomas told the court.
Magistrates heard how Mr. Craig asked Mr. Young ‘do you like my music’, to which he responded ‘yeah it’s fine’, before asking him again, but this time, Mr. Young alleged that he used a racial insult towards him.
“Mr. Craig then hit his neighbour on the back of his head and punched him several times, before Mr. Young grabbed him by the testicles and managed to exit the flat,” continued Ms Thomas.
“He then phoned his partner and told her what had happened and she phoned the police, before Mr. Craig then entered Mr. Young’s flat.”
Mr. Craig told his neighbour that he was ‘going to have him’, before Mr. Young took a knife out of the kitchen drawer, telling the defendant that he had a right to defend himself and to get out of his flat.
Police attended the address in the early hours of December 14 and in a statement said that Mr. Young was found with marks and dried blood on his face and hands, and the top he was wearing was ripped.
The statement said that Mr. Craig appeared agitated when officers arrived and was pacing around his flat which was covered in empty lager cans, and items of household furniture that appeared to have been pushed over.
His eyes were glazed and his speech was slurred, and when asked if he was ok, he became more defensive.
As officers went to arrest him, Mr. Craig became more aggressive and they pulled out PAVA spray ready to use if needed.
He was eventually exported from the property into a police caged vehicle and conveyed to Haverfordwest Police Station.
Giving evidence at the trial, Mr. Young told the court that he felt a sharp blow on the back of his head when Mr. Craig attacked him and felt himself being dragged backwards.
“I remember being pushed back onto the sofa and punches were raining down on me,” Mr. Young told the court.
“I managed to get myself free and out of the flat, and phoned my partner at my flat to tell her what happened.
“I turned back around and Mr. Craig was standing behind me shouting at me and pointing. I opened the kitchen drawer, pulled out a knife and he took a step backwards and I told him to get out.
“He left, but then a minute or so later he threw a stone at my window and then something at my front door, which smashed,” continued Mr. Young.
Magistrates were shown photographic evidence of Mr. Young’s injuries, where he sustained cuts to his forehead, both sides of his face, and also to his arms and hands.
Photos were also shown of the damage caused to both doors at the flats.
Giving evidence, Mr. Craig said that he would never show any animosity towards anyone because of their skin colour, as he came from a mixed race background.
“Most of my family are white, they are my blood, and even if I was drunk, I would never say something like that,” he told the court.
Defence solicitor Jonathan Webb told the court that neither Mr. Young nor his partner had raised anything at the time of the attack to police of the alleged racial element, only afterwards in his statement.
“This wasn’t a racial attack, and when Mr. Craig was arrested by police officers, it was for assault, and not a racially aggravated one.
“There were only two people there, and it’s a case of one person saying one thing and the other saying another,” Mr. Webb told magistrates.
Prosecutor Ms Thomas told magistrates that there was no reason to disbelieve Mr. Young as the account he had given in court matched the statement he had given to police, whereas on the other hand, Mr. Craig had subsequently changed his plea.
“He told the police that he didn’t assault Mr. Young or cause criminal damage, but he’s accepted here today that he did. He lied to police in his interview,” she stated.
After magistrates retired to consider their verdict, they returned to state that they had found Mr. Craig not guilty of racially aggravated assault, and that he would be sentenced for assault by beating and also two charges of criminal damage.
Sentencing was adjourned for a three-week period so that a pre-sentence report could be prepared by the probation service, as magistrates were informed that Mr. Craig had two previous convictions in 2013.
Mr. Craig was remanded on bail until sentencing on February 12, with conditions imposed - not to contact directly or indirectly Robert Young; not to enter by himself or through another any data on social media that refers directly or by necessary inference to Robert Young.