Man Fined $1000 For Assaulting Neighbour
Appearing in Magistrates Court this morning [Mar 28], Plumber’s Lane Southampton resident Charles Cope, 42 pleaded guilty to unlawfully assaulting and causing bodily harm to another man, his neighbour.
This had happened in the course of a dispute over the putting out and placement of trash intended for collection. The dispute resulted in Mr Cope striking his neighbour, causing a contusion to his jaw, and Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo fining Mr Cope $1,000.
The assault happened late afternoon on 31st January 2014 after Mr Cope had, according to his evidence, raced down to the edge of the property that he rented to deal with his neighbour where an argument began. Mr Cope said that the neighbour adopted a fighting stance but that he, Mr Cope, struck first. Police were called, Mr Cope was later arrested and questioned. On questioning he admitted striking his neighbour.
In rejecting a Duty Counsel submission for a Conditional Discharge, Magistrate Tokunbo said that given the seriousness of the case and the admission of guilt, there was no way that a Community Service based sentence or a Conditional Discharge would be proper. In handing down the $1,000 fine, Magistrate Tokunbo said that the use of violence was no way to end a dispute and that violence was prevalent in the community.
Read More About
Category: All, Court Reports, Crime, News
Wait a minute Cope was renting lol
Why is the neighbour taking out the trash on a Friday afternoon anyway? West End trash collection is on Mondays and Thursdays. That’s just disgusting because the trash would have stayed there until Monday. Not condoning this man’s bad behaviour, but the neighbour was probably asking for a “thrashing”. LOL!
True, true and true.
We could use a few more Mr Cope’s island wide to bring all these thoughtless fools up to speed that trash goes out ONLY on the morning of collection day.
Not the afternoon of collection day . Not the day after collection day.
And please refer to the holiday collection schedule a few days before the holiday occurs.
(and the fact that he was a ‘renter’ is irrelevant in my view)
Any more Mr Cope’s and trash would be in everyones yard including your own.
The way the article reads it seems the neighbour was the troublemaker putting his trash out incorrectly , no ?
And I already have other people’s trash in my drive that always needs tidying up thanks to the points I mentioned above.
Yes!
More punching is what is needed! Absolutely!
Wow.
Thats because in the past those clowns pick it up when they feel like it despite the “schedule”!
Did u read the article the neighbor was bringing cope his trash back… smh
where did you read in the article above that the neighbor was bringing mr. copes trash back..?
Where did you get your first sentence from? It says a dispute happened on the Friday over the trash not that the trash was taken out on the Friday. I was there in court and this Mr Cope you are praising always places his trash in the neighbors yard. Get your story right mate.
Most do it.
Just don’t end up in a confrontation.
Mirrors are a b
Shalom.
“Mr Cope said that the neighbour adopted a fighting stance but that he, Mr Cope, struck first.”
If this is true then it is a cse of self defense.
Nope, that means he assaulted the gentleman as the judge said. Remember, no matter what is about to happen it has yet to happen so therefore you can not take the law into your own hands.
the above article states that mr cope “raced” down to the edge of the property…well that seems to be the first sign of aggression to me…if you come a running and shouting at me ,i’m gonna adopt something too…and call it self defense…but in this case the neighbor braced up and got popped…lol
So now we’ve got two neighbours with bad blood between them. Next time the cops are called it’ll probably be a worse outcome! Put your trash out on TRASH DAY!!
Well sorry I do shift work and usually when i get home from work the trash has already been collected so I really have no choice but to put mine out the night before…Unless you want to come to my house in the morning while I’m at work and put it out for me?
Then the cats that night will have a field day and leave your trash all over the road…how considerate of you!
I guess they were talking trash!
My dogs staying out of this trash…………….
Someone disliked what I had to say?
If you square up on someone you are saying that you want and expect a fight. It is an instigation of a fight.
Just because the other guy hits first doesn’t mean you didn’t start it. If you square up first you better be prepared to fight and finish the job.
Fighting trash with trash still leaves garbage.
Food for thought//////////////…………………
Didn’t Derrick Burgess in all of his wisdom (which is very little) enact a law that basically says: if you put your trash out before a certain amount of time before pickup, you could be hauled into court and fined? Another useless piece of legislation I know but, why isn’t one of these pugists facing charges for this ofence?
There’s a lot of trash on this island…that’s why Lister’s creating a new party!
Putting your trash out to the roadside ANY day of the week is becoming too prevalent. This results in the increase of rodents that are creating havoc in certain areas in the west end in particular not to mention the eye sore to our visitors. Think neighbors and make an effort to meet the pick-up schedule or hold your garbage,in a safe place, until the next pick-up.
Aggravated assault….if I recall correctly life and property are the two things you have a right to protect.
In the old days u could burn the paper and bury the rest on a hole in your yard…
If you need to put the trash out the night before because of work commitments etc make sure it is in a sturdy bin with a lid that is shut.
Simple fix.