‘Biting the hand that feeds you’
A truck driver was ordered on Tuesday to leave the house owned by the mother of his child after he pleaded guilty to hitting her in the face causing 60 per cent hearing loss.
The accused, David Hazel, after pleading guilty to the charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, told Senior Parish Judge at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court, Lori-Ann Cole-Montague, that “I never meant to do it. It’s just out of ignorance.”
The court was told that on the night of the incident, Hazel asked the complainant for a kiss and she refused on the grounds that he didn’t deserve a kiss because he “was not treating her right.” A tussle ensued during which the mother of a four-year-old accidentally kicked the accused. The man retaliated by slapping the complainant in the face, causing swelling and bruising.
The woman told the judge that it was the second such incident, and she now has “60 per cent hearing loss [and] the specialist says it won’t come back base on my age.”
In response, Cole-Montague said, “Don’t short change yourself. You’re a beautiful woman.”
“This [restitution] sounds like the starting point would be $300,000,” the judge continued.
It was also revealed that Hazel is living in a house owned by the complainant. Armed with this news, the judge asked her if she wanted the accused to leave the premises, to which she answered, “yes.”
Turning to Hazel, Cole-Montague said, “Mr Hazel you need to come out of the lady’s place. This is really a case where you [are] biting the hand that feeds you.”
After ordering him to leave the complainant’s house by 1:00 pm on February 4, the judge told the complainant, “sometimes you affi clear out the old to get the new.”
The judge also told the woman that she needs to get an estimate of the cost for treating her hearing loss, so the court can order an appropriate payment for restitution.
“Let me tell you something, Sir, for the next few days you are allowed in this house, tread carefully… you are on thin ice,” Cole-Montague said.
A fingerprint order was made for Hazel, and he was told to return to court on February 14.
