A man grabbed a pregnant woman by the neck during a parking dispute at a Bolton pet shop, a court heard. Kane Samms, 35, pleaded guilty to a single charge of assault by beating.
The victim had left Namas pet shop to find a van blocking her car, parked across the entrance to the car park. Samms identified himself as the van's owner when she enquired in the store.
Dispute escalated
Minshull Street Crown Court heard she felt 'uncomfortable with the way he had spoken to her'. After she asked him to move the van, Samms told her: "When you use your manners."
The woman said 'please' and Samms said she had 'disrespected him'. After she again asked him to move the van, he called her a 'little sl*t'.
Samms then walked up to her, grabbed her by the neck and pushed her against a wall. She was frightened to fight back, fearing what Samms might do.
Court details
Prosecuting, Eddy Steele said Samms would not have known the woman was pregnant, as she was only eight weeks pregnant at the time, on November 24, 2023. The victim called police and attended Royal Bolton Hospital, where doctors found no injuries, but she complained of soreness to her neck and the back of her head.
Samms was interviewed by police on December 19, 2023. He told officers the woman was 'overreacting' and that 'her response was likely due to her hormones'. Mr Steele said: "When asked why [she] would make up these allegations, he stated that it was because women are dramatic."
Victim impact
In a statement read to the court, the woman said: "I don't feel as if I could go back to the pet shop again. I felt angry that someone could treat me like that and just approach me and put his hands on me. You see things happen like this all the time, but when it happens to you it feels completely different, it's shocking."
The court heard Samms has 10 previous convictions for 13 offences, including assault. Defending, Richard Flook said of the defendant: "He has demonstrated insight into his behaviour and is ashamed of what he did that day. There are no excuses for it." He said Samms cares for his two children and that his previous convictions were of 'significant age'.
Judge Neil Usher told Samms: "You behaved in a disgraceful manner towards this lady, who was simply making a perfectly civil remark about being blocked in. It seems to me you have a problem with your temper."
Samms, of Tweedle Hill Road, Blackley, was sentenced to a 12-month community order, and ordered to complete 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 100 hours of unpaid work.
