Man receives suspended sentence over Christmas Eve domestic incident

A domestic incident on Christmas Eve resulted in a local man receiving a suspended sentence at Derry Magistrate's Court today.

Conor Costello (29) of Lawrence Hill in Derry admitted two charges of assault on a female and one of criminal damage to a set of car keys on December 24 last year.

The court heard that police observed a man acting suspiciously on Lawrence Hill. 

He was seen to get into a vehicle which was then observed to be rocking from side to side. 

Police pulled up alongside the vehicle and saw there was a female present as well. 

The woman told police that she had been in Costello's home and said he was 'in foul mood'.

She said she had tried to leave and he had prevented her and pushed her against a wall and then headbutted her causing swelling to her eye. 

The woman managed to get out and got into the car and the defendant followed her and she told him she was breaking up with him. 

He struggled with the woman and grabbed the car keys from her and threw them away damaging them and then police arrived. 

Costello said he was 'absolutely monkeyed' at the time and denied the assault claiming the swelling was due to the woman crying. 

The defendant said that he may have grabbed the woman by the shoulders and then told police 'I should have let her go'. 

Defence counsel Stephen Mooney said that there was no domestic history between the pair. 

He said that this was 'not a pattern'. 

District Judge Oonagh Mullan said that it was concerning that incidents like this occur in the context of a relationship. 

She imposed a six month sentence suspended for 18 months.