After she read a Democratic Labour Party (DLP) poster that was stuck to a pole, a woman ended being slapped, punched and choked by her boyfriend.
Not done, he also bit her.
But the man, 24-year-old Jamal Terry Blackman, said he could not remember anything about a poster, as he begged the court for mercy.
Blackman, a tractor driver, of Colleton, St Lucy, admitted assaulting Chevianne Pitt-Seale, occasioning her actual bodily harm last Saturday.
Prosecutor Sergeant Cameron Gibbons told the District “A” Magistrates’ Court that the two, who lived together, had attended a bus crawl where they consumed several alcoholic drinks. After the event, they got a lift to Eagle Hall and decided to walk to their Government Hill, St Michael home.
On reaching Carrington Village, the girlfriend noticed a DLP poster on a pole and read the slogan out loud. This vexed Blackman who walked ahead. When they got home, Pitt-Seale retired to her bed, saying she was not feeling well.
She was awakened by a blow to the body, and saw Blackman standing over her. He began to punch and choke her. Pitt-Seale’s mother intervened and things quieted down for a bit.
But later, Blackman again attacked Pitt-Seale, choking her and saying: “You going to dead in here tonight.”
A struggle ensued and he bit her on the right ear, upper back and right hand. She sought medical attention, and later reported the matter to police.
When Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant asked Blackman what he had to say for himself, he said he did not remember anything about a poster.
“We went home and started a convo [conversation]. She said she wasn’t feeling well and wanted to sleep,” he told the court, adding he felt she was dealing with a former boyfriend.
He said that resulted in an argument and that was when he slapped her.
“I apologise for my actions, Ma’am. I have three young babies – one [year], one [year] and six months – and I am the only parent working. I am asking for some leniency,” he pleaded, noting he and Pitt-Seale shared two children and had been together for six years.
Magistrate Cuffy-Sargeant released him on $3 000 bail and warned him to stay away from Pitt-Seale. He had already moved out of the residence.
“Stay away from drinking, especially if it impairs your judgement or memory,” she said, before advising his surety to act as mediator between the two parties.
Blackman returns to court on Friday. (RA)
