Man acquitted of breaking friend's leg in row over phone

Following several hours of deliberations at Belfast Crown Court, a jury of six women and six men returned a unanimous ‘not guilty’ verdict against David Moorehead.

The 29-year old, from Forthriver Dale, was cleared of causing his friend grievous bodily harm with intent during an altercation on November 19, 2015.

In a trial which commenced last week, Moorehead was accused of wielding nunchucks, and of attacking his friend with the martial arts weapons, in a row over a second-hand phone.

It was the Crown’s case that Moorehead swung the weapon at his friend and hit him on the shin. The injured man sustained two compound fractures which required two operations.

Moorehead always made the case that whilst he was involved in an altercation with his friend, he stated the other man confronted him in an aggressive fashion, that he kicked out in self-defence and that he never attacked the other man with a weapon.

Moorehead also maintained that when he left the scene, he was unaware of the other man’s injures.

As well as acquitting Moorehead of causing the other man grievous bodily harm with intent, the jury failed to reach a verdict on a lesser charge of causing him grievous bodily harm.

After it emerged that the jury could not reach a verdict on the second charge, and that the Crown was not seeking a retrial, Mooreheard was told by Her Honour Judge McCaffrey: “You are free to go.”