Pub punch accused has 470 previous convictions, court is told
A man allegedly punched a stranger to the ground for refusing him a cigarette outside a Belfast pub, a court heard today.
John Goddard, 53, is accused of splitting the other man’s lip in the unprovoked attack on New Year’s Eve.
The defendant, who has 470 previous convictions, was remanded in custody after police claimed he poses a danger to the public.
Goddard, of no fixed abode, faces charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm and resisting arrest.
Belfast Magistrates’ Court heard the victim was targeted just before midnight on December 31 while out with his partner at The Points Bar on the Dublin Road.
As the couple stood outside the pub Goddard approached the man and asked him for a cigarette, according to police.
“When the injured party said ‘no’ the defendant is alleged to have become aggressive, called him names like ‘c***’, ‘f****r’ and ‘b*****d’, walked towards him and then punched him to the face,” a PSNI constable said.
“The punch was recorded on CCTV and showed the injured party being hit with such force that he was knocked back a considerable distance before falling backwards onto the ground.”
Goddard allegedly approached the man again as he lay on the ground before his partner got between them to stop any further assault.
Door supervisors from the pub then intervened at the scene.
Based on CCTV footage and witness statements, Goddard was located and arrested in the Great Victoria Street area on Sunday.
He allegedly tensed up and shouted aggressively at police officers while refusing to comply with their instructions.
Opposing bail, the constable claimed: “He has basically assaulted an unknown injured party because he wouldn’t give him a cigarette.
“I believe he is a danger to the public, going to those lengths after being refused what he wanted. He just resorted to immediate violence.”
The court heard Goddard claims it was the injured party who initiated the altercation.
Defence barrister Michael Boyd accepted his client has a “prodigious” criminal record, stretching to 470 previous convictions
“He has spent about 30 years on the streets and is a very vulnerable man in many ways,” Mr Boyd submitted.
But refusing bail due to the risk of re-offending, District Judge Natasha Fitzsimons remanded Goddard in custody until February 3.