Downpatrick men face sentencing after knife attack

Downpatrick men face sentencing after knife attack

29 June 2016

TWO Downpatrick men who were involved in a fight which led to a man being slashed with a knife are to be sentenced tomorrow.

John Bernard Wade (50), of Roughal Park, and Peter Horrox (43), of Mount Crescent, were remanded in custody on Monday after details of their offences emerged at Downpatrick Crown Court.

Wade faces the most serious charges, including unlawfully and maliciously wounding with a Stanley knife. Horrox is accused of common assault.

The court heard Wade went speak to a family about a land dispute at a property he owned on the Castleward Road outside Strangford on August 13, 2014. He was one of a group of men at the house, including Horrox.

A scuffle broke out which turned serious as Wade issued threats. Three members of the family were assaulted.

The most seriously injured of the three, who saw a blade being produced, was slashed on his chest. The court heard he needed 50 stitches and was in hospital for three days.

Another said he was assaulted by a number of men and kicked or punched to the head. The third man, who was elderly, was left shaken.

Details of the knife or how the injury was inflicted were not opened in court on Monday but evidence 

of Wade carrying a Stanley knife were referred to in an earlier hearing. Horrox was reported to have bitten one of the men and to have held a stone aloft in a threatening manner.

Prosecutor David McDowell QC said at the end of the assault Wade threatened the men with “the Boys” and told them: “Don’t be going to the police.”

The court heard that Wade had an effectively clear record and was not assessed as dangerous by the Probation Service. Horrox was noted as having a lengthy record, with many of the convictions being of some vintage.

Addressing the court, a defence barrister argued in mitigation that Wade had lived a “wholesome and very productive life”.

“The whole criminal justice system is completely alien to him,” the barrister said.

He said that his client’s early years were difficult ones but he had made something of his life and now tried to help others.

“He is a very productive member of society involved in cross-community work for a large number of years,” the barrister added. “He has busied himself in everything but criminality.”

The lawyer said there was also “very genuine heartfelt remorse” for his part in the assaults. He also pointed out there was “no evidence of a penetrating chest injury”.

Judge Piers Grant QC interjected to say that pictures of the wound inflicted by Wade were “frightening” and that he was “lucky” in the circumstances.

David Rea, chairman of Downpatrick Cricket Club where Wade had worked, also gave evidence in the witness box as to his character.

He said Wade was trustworthy, had “worked tirelessly” and was “someone you can rely on to get things done”, adding that he had brought in groups from both sides of the community to use the club.

Mr Rea was asked by Judge Grant if he was previously aware of the detail of the charges facing Wade. He replied: “I was not aware. I am now fully informed.”

In his experience he said Wade was a “calm individual” and that the matters before the court seemed “totally out of character”.

Gerry Manley, a chef at the cricket club, also gave Wade a glowing character reference. He said Wade had personally helped him during a very difficult period in his life.

A defence barrister for Horrox said the prosecution accepted his client was in head lock before he lashed out. He said Horrox had backed Wade up during the incident but was not aware of what was going to happen, and was unaware Wade had a knife.

“He did come out behind Mr Wade and became involved in a peripheral level with that,” the barrister said.

“It was a dispute he had no part of.”

He added that Horrox was “devastated” to hear who had been injured as he had previously helped a member of his family.

The barrister acknowledged Horrox’s criminal record included a couple of common assault charges and said his client had also been frank about the role of drugs in his life.

“He has done his very best to remain as drug free as possible,” he said.

Sentencing is due in Downpatrick Court on Thursday.