A REDDITCH man has walked away with a conditional discharge after punching a man in the face and spitting in a police car.
Alwyn Neade, of Nairn Close, Winyates pleaded guilty at Redditch Magistrates Court on Tuesday (January 12) to assaulting Marian Gomulka, causing £50 of criminal damage and possessing a class C drug.
Adrian Jones, prosecuting, told the court the 45-year-old was at a betting shop on December 22 and was very drunk when a staff member put him in a taxi and told the driver, Mohammad Ilshack, he had plenty of money on him and would pay the fare when he got home.
When they arrived the journey cost £7 which Neade refused to pay. He began swearing at the driver in Polish. Mr Gomulka was passing by and heard the man shouting, as he is Polish he understood what he was saying and decided to try and help him communicate with the driver.
Mr Jones said: “The defendant punched the man twice in the face without provocation. He had to push him away and he continued to argue with Mr Gomulka who luckily did not receive any injuries.”
Neade was arrested and the officer found two Diazepam tablets on him. Whilst in the police car he was spitting and they had to have the vehicle professionally cleaned for health, safety and hygiene reasons in order to use the car again.
Defence solicitor, Whaleed Khan, said Neade was put in the taxi by someone who seemed to want to get rid of him.
He said: “He had no money on him to pay the fare. He had fully intended to walk home.
“The tablets belonged to his mother who goes to visit him. She is elderly and often leaves things and he returns them and that is why he had them in his pocket.
“He can not remember being in the police car and he himself is disgusted by the fact he was spitting.”
Chair of the bench Trevor Higginbotham gave Neade a conditional discharge for six months for both the assault and criminal damage and no separate punishment for the drug possession.
He ordered Neade to pay £185 in prosecution costs, a £15 victim surcharge and £50 in compensation both to the victim and the police.
