David Ungi has been handed a suspended prison sentence after hitting a man over the head with a glass bottle in a restaurant on Lark Lane. The 34-year-old, who was referred to in court as David Riccio, has been freed from prison as a result, having served eight weeks and two days behind bars on remand.
It came after Ungi missed his scheduled trial earlier this year due to being in Thailand, only belatedly being apprehended six months later. A judge told him today that he had acted in an "intimidating" manner towards his victim before subjecting him to the assault, with his use of the bottle of coke being described as a "worrying aspect" of the case.
Details of the incident
Liverpool Crown Court heard this afternoon, Wednesday, that Alan Williams was with two friends in Meat Me on Lark Lane shortly before 1.30pm on July 4 2024, being seated around a table next to the front entrance. Ungi, of Melbreck Road in Allerton, then entered alongside three other males, his group having sat down on the other side of the restaurant.
Sarah Gruffydd, prosecuting, described how the defendant subsequently made to leave the premises but stopped beside the door before doing so, at which stage he said he recognised one of the men in the other party. This was said to have led to "raised voices" and a "heated conversation" between him and Mr Williams.
Ungi was then seen on CCTV moving towards the other man and standing over him in his chair, at which stage the latter stood up. Ms Gruffydd said of this: "Effectively, the instant he does so, [Ungi] has picked up an empty glass bottle from the table, they are little coke bottles that they had been drinking from, and hit him across the face with that bottle. The bottle, however, did not smash."
This led to punches and pushing between the two men as members of Ungi's group approached the melee. While he was initially seen on the footage being taken outside by a female member of staff, he was briefly shown re-entering and squaring up to the other males before leaving once more.
Arrest and background
Ungi was ultimately identified via CCTV and handed himself in at a police station five days later, at which stage he claimed to have acted in self-defence. His case had previously been listed for trial in March this year, although he failed to attend on this date due to being in Thailand at the time.
While Ungi has only one earlier conviction for possession of a class B drug with intent to supply in 2010, he was previously acquitted of the murder of Vinny Waddington in 2023. The 18-year-old died after being blasted in the chest with a shotgun on Banks Road in Garston in 2015.
Laura Jane Miller, defending, told the court of her client's absence on his original trial date: "We have to accept that he knew about the trial date. Whether or not he knew that he should be living and sleeping at the address in the UK is another matter. We have to accept that he knew about the trial date and he did not return for it."
"While it may have been a delay in justice, it was not a deliberate attempt, in my submission, to evade justice. His instructions were clear, that he wanted to attend his trial. It certainly was not an attempt to evade justice. I have to accept that there was a delay in justice."
Ms Miller added of the altercation at Meat Me: "He accepts his actions as per the CCTV, with the caveat of the basis of plea that was accepted by the crown, that he responds by picking up the bottle when the man stands up into his space. He perceived that to be a danger to himself."
"When he felt it strike the male, he let go of it. You can see the bottle leave his grip and go onto the table behind the male. He does not keep it in his hand while there are further blows on the male. He has nothing for violence recorded against him."
"The affray itself is relatively short lived. It takes place over a number of seconds. When he is told to leave, he does leave the premises, to his credit. The male does appear to be smiling at him in the immediate aftermath."
"In our submission, this is a case which can properly be dealt with by way of a suspended sentence. He has now spent eight weeks and two days in custody. While he has spent time in custody on remand previously, he has never been in custody as a convicted person. He has had far less privileges because of his status as a convicted person."
"He is able to go back and live with his mother during the course of a probation order. We would invite the court to impose a suspended sentence order, which will hang over his head for a significant period of time. If he does get into any more trouble, of course, that sentence will be activated."
Sentencing and judge's remarks
Ungi pleaded guilty to affray last month on the first day of his adjourned trial, as well as an offence of failing to surrender to bail. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was handed an eight-month imprisonment suspended for a year with 140 hours of unpaid work and a 12-month probation requirement.
Wearing a grey tracksuit, Ungi replied "thank you, your honour" at the close of the hearing. Another man, Richard Murphy, had also previously been charged with affray over the same incident, but the prosecution offered no evidence against the 31-year-old, of Llandecwyn in North Wales, in relation to this count.
Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: "You have pleaded guilty, albeit late in the day, to an offence of affray that was committed on the 4th of July 2024, and of failing to surrender to your bail on the day your trial was listed, which was the 23rd of March 2026. You and some friends, on that occasion, visited the Meat Me restaurant in Lark Lane, where the victim, Mr Williams, was sitting at a table with some of his friends."
"It is clear from the CCTV footage, which is the evidence in this case, because Mr Williams did not choose to make a complaint, that words were exchanged between you and him. You moved closer to him in way which I regard as intimidating."
"At one point, in response to that, he stood up. The prosecution accept that what happened thereafter was a response to the threat you felt when he stood up. It is worth noting that the threat you felt was the product of what you had done before that."
"Your response, and this is the worrying aspect, was not to walk away or punch him, but to pick up a bottle and strike him across the face with it. Happily, you did not persist with using that bottle, but you did persist with a flurry of punches before you were taken out by friends and staff."
"You were due to stand trial on the 23rd of March this year. You did not turn up. I was told that you were in Thailand, and you did not come back, or at least you were not arrested, until the 24th of August."
"I take the view that someone with your experience of the criminal justice system, even though you have only been convicted on one occasion, could have have been in any doubt of your obligation to attend this court. While it may not have been an attempt to avoid justice altogether, I have no doubt that it was an attempt to avoid that trial on that day. It had the consequence of prolonging the agony for Mr Murphy, who is to have a not guilty verdict entered in his case."
"It is clear from Mr Williams' reaction to what happened that, even though there may have been an element of bravado, there was little or no physical injury and little or no distress caused to him. This took place in a public restaurant, clearly causing distress to the other people in there, including the staff."
Referring to measures brought in under the Sentencing Act 2026 in March this year, which mean that sentences of 12 months or less must be suspended in all but exceptional circumstances, Judge Flewitt added: "There is a statutory presumption that any sentence of that length should now be suspended. None of the exceptions in the statute apply, and so I must suspend it."
"I am sure you understand that, if you do not comply with those requirements or you commit any further offence punishable with imprisonment, you are liable to come back before this court, and you may be ordered to serve some or all of that eight month sentence. That means that, if there is nothing else keeping you in prison, you will be released and immediately subject to that suspended sentence order."
