County Derry man sentenced for violent attack on partner of eight weeks
Court hears how an argument over a Letterkenny hotel bill escalated into a violent throat-grabbing incident.
A man has been jailed at Derry Crown Court for an assault on his then partner when he grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against a wardrobe.
Stephen Cyril Farr (39) of no fixed abode pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault that occurred on October 4 last year.
The court heard police responded to a report of a domestic incident and the injured party told them that Farr and herself had been in a relationship for some 8 weeks.
She said that on October 3 they had gone to an hotel in Letterkenny and she became upset that 'disparaging remarks' had been made by Farr and she went and sat in the car.
After returning to their house in Maghera the next day an argument occurred about money for the hotel.
The woman said that Farr grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against a wardrobe.
When he was arrested Farr denied the assault.
Judge Roseanne McCormick KC said the defendant had 32 previous convictions and over the years 'various disposals' had been tried.
She said Farr was 'no stranger to domestic abuse' and added his offending was 'highly culpable'.
The judge said the idea of grabbing someone by the throat was 'intolerable' and added there was 'a pattern of violence' in Farr's record.
Farr was jailed for 20 months with half to be spent in custody and half on licence.