A man glassed a woman in the head, bit her friend's arm and then assaulted a man following an earlier dispute.
Lee Berry was described as being "drunk and aggressive" before he launched the attack on the two women and a man near a block of flats in Seaham on June 7, last year. The 52-year-old left one of the women with injuries which required hospital treatment after hitting her in the head three times with a glass.
Berry appeared at Durham Crown Court to be sentenced for common assault and two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was found guilty after a trial.
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Ashleigh Leach, prosecuting, said Berry went to the home address of a man where a "brief disagreement" took place, resulting in a door being slammed shut in his face. Later that day, two women who also lived in the area, were speaking with Berry regarding the disagreement. However, he was "drunk and aggressive" and said to be "making the situation worse".
Berry then hurled abuse at one of the women before he jumped up and began swinging punches at her. Ms Leach said: "Several connected to her face and the other woman tried to intervene. The defendant bit her on the left arm, breaking the skin. The defendant then turned his attention back on the other woman, striking her with a glass three times to the forehead."
As the incident was unfolding, the man who Berry had earlier had a disagreement with left his home to assist the two women. But Berry hit him in the head, too. The court heard that the woman who was glassed sustained swelling around her eye and required three stitches in hospital. The second woman also received hospital treatment and received a tetanus injection. Berry was arrested a couple of days later.
Martin Scarborough, defending, said Berry would not get credit as he was found guilty after trial, where he put forward self-defence. He said Berry had no relevant previous convictions and was a "working man who works for a drilling company". He said: "There are many positives in his personal circumstances and background. There is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation." Mr Scarborough added it was an "isolated but unpleasant incident".
Sentencing Berry, of Dovedale Court, Seaham, Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, said he was "totally out of control" during the incident and handed him a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He must also complete 180 hours unpaid work and was put on a four month electronic curfew. He must also pay £750 and £500 compensation to the women.
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