Jail for Douglas man who punched stranger in the street

23-year-old lashed out at stranger in Strand Street

A Douglas man has been jailed after punching a stranger in the face and knocking him unconscious.

Joey Mari-Latonio Cordero, of Loch Promenade, became ‘irritated’ when the man tried to intervene in an argument he was having with his girlfriend.

The 23-year-old admitted assaulting him, causing actual bodily harm, on Strand Street at 12.30am on 4 September.

During sentencing at Douglas Courthouse today the court heard that Cordero, and his girlfriend, had been socialising in a bar with friends before the verbal altercation took place in the street.

When the passer-by tried to defuse the situation Cordero punched him to the head with a closed fist; the man lost his balance and fell backwards, hitting his head on the pavement.

He was unconscious for several minutes and suffered two lacerations to his head.

Cordero was arrested on Regent Street and told police he’d drank alcohol and consumed cocaine in the run up to the offence adding he knew he should have walked away.

“The harm you caused is extremely serious.” – Deputy High Bailiff James Brooks

Cordero’s advocate said his client had written to the victim to apologise saying: "He does accept full responsibility for the offence. He knows he (the stranger) was only trying to help.”

Urging any custodial sentence to be suspended he added: "Mr Cordero can be given one last opportunity to show he’s not the person who committed the offence that night."

Describing the assault as a ‘very ugly side’ of Cordero’s character Deputy High Bailiff James Brooks also noted he’d also left the scene of the attack adding: "That strikes me as the act of a coward."

Sentencing Cordero to 20 weeks at the Isle of Man Prison the deputy high bailiff told him due to the ‘severity of the consequences’ of his actions he could not find grounds to suspend the sentence.