A 26-year old who glassed a man for looking at him in a Belfast bar has avoided an immediate jail term.
Kevin Lennon was handed a two-year sentence, which was suspended for three years, by Judge Patrick Lynch KC.
From Cavendish Street in Belfast, Lennon admitted a charge of wounding which occurred in the early hours of April 23 2022.
Belfast Crown Court heard that around 1.30am, Lennon approached the injured party on the dancefloor of Filthy McNasty’s.
Lennon asked the other man “what the f*** are you looking at?” then threw a glass directly into his face.
As the wounded man sought assistance from staff, Lennon ran towards the exit.
The police were alerted to the incident and whilst Lennon was detained and arrested, the injured party was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he received five stitches for a laceration to his forehead.
During a police interview, Lennon accepted he had been drinking in the bar. He refused to answer some questions but claimed that the man he attacked had been trying to start a fight with him and also denied throwing a glass.
It emerged during Monday’s hearing that Lennon and the injured party did not know each other.
The court also heard that Lennon experienced what Judge Lynch described as “traumatic events in childhood” and has a long history of mental health issues.
Prior to being sentenced, Lennon was examined by a psychiatrist who concluded that at the time of his offending, he was experiencing delusions and paranoid thinking.
Branding glassing as a grave offence, Judge Lynch said it was fortunate in this case that the wound sustained by the injured party was not more serious.
Noting Lennon has a clear criminal record and that he is a “vulnerable individual” with severe mental health problems, the Judge said that whilst the custody threshold was passed, he was prepared to suspend the sentence.
This, he said, was due to Lennon’s “mental health instability” and the “delusional nature of his thinking at the time”.
After imposing the suspended sentence, Judge Lynch addressed Lennon and warned him that any offending over the next three years would resulted in jail.
Advising Lennon that he needed to avoid alcohol, the judge told him “you cannot afford to get into any trouble in the future”.