A woman was subjected to a sustained public beating in Newcastle city centre during which she was hurled into a shop window. Alan Pickles, 41, of no fixed address, has been jailed for 14 months for the assault.
Attack outside McDonald's
Pickles and his partner had been out on June 17 this year. In the early hours of the following day, they were at a convenience store on Grainger Street. They argued and Pickles punched her in the face, knocking her to the floor, before storming out of the shop.
A short time later, around 1.45am, the couple went to McDonald's on Northumberland Street, where a security guard asked them to leave after they argued loudly at a table. The woman initially told the guard the row was over but then approached him saying she felt unsafe and had been "battered" by Pickles earlier that night.
Attack on Northumberland Street
The security guard asked Pickles to leave, which he did but he waited outside and kept talking to the woman through the door, including saying he loved her and was sorry. She responded saying that it was over between them. The security guard told him to leave or he would phone police but the woman then asked if they could have two minutes to talk.
As they walked up Northumberland Street towards Primark, Pickles forcefully pushed her into a glass window, causing her head to hit the glass with a loud bang. The glass did not break, the court heard. She collapsed to the ground and he stood over her and began punching her repeatedly as she went into the foetal position and he was shouting "I will kill you".
Jail and restraining order
The security guard intervened but he was also punched by Pickles, with the guard then pushing him into some barriers. A delivery driver mistakenly thought the two men were fighting and pulled the security guard away, which allowed Pickles to stand up and walk off, after screaming aggressively at the woman.
The woman was left with bruising to her arms and a cut to the top of her head. Pickles has 12 previous convictions, including for common assault when she refused to make him some food and criminal damage against the same victim, for which he was given an 18 month community order last May.
For the latest offending, he pleaded guilty to assault by beating and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Judge Edward Bindloss, who said it was a "sustained and persistent assault", jailed him for 14 months and imposed a seven-year restraining order.
Jason Smith, defending, said: "The defendant has significant regret for his actions." He added that alcohol is a disinhibiting factor for his ADHD and said he had a difficult upbringing and long-standing issues with drugs and alcohol. Mr Smith said: "He says he has not touched anything at all, even though it's readily available in the custodial environment."
