Second 'last chance' for violent man (From Witney Gazette)

Second 'last chance' for violent man

3:03pm Monday 20th March 2006 in Witney By Jo Duckles

A VIOLENT man has escaped a prison sentence after admitting his part in a city centre brawl five months after being given 'one last chance' by the same judge.

Nathan Strong, 24, of Kingfisher Drive, Witney, walked out of Oxford Crown Court on Thursdaymar 16 after pleading guilty to using threatening or unlawful violence in Bonn Square, Oxford.

He was arrested after being captured on CCTV punching other men, after a fight broke out in the early hours of February 2.

The court heard Strong had previous convictions for violence-related offences, including one last March, when he broke a woman's nose.

In Octoberlast year, the Witney Gazette reported how he launched a frenzied attack on two men, stamping on their faces and kicking their heads. At that time, Judge Bruce McIntyre said he would give him 'one last chance' by ordering him to complete a 200-hour community punishment order, instead of a prison sentence.

He warned Strong: "If you come before the courts again, you should expect a custodial sentence."

But at the hearing on Thursday, Judge McIntyre again decided not to jail Strong, and instead sentenced him to a six-month prison term, suspended for two years warning him again that he would face a prison sentence if he re-offended. He also ordered him to abide by a curfew to remain at his home address between 9pm and 6am for six months, and gave him a 12-month supervision order.

Judge McIntyre gave the Strong the suspended sentence after Graham Bennett, defending, said: "He pleaded guilty to the charge before the court.

"The group of men on the CCTV were responsible for an incident earlier, which included verbal abuse and a physical altercation with a girl in Strong's group.

"It was as a result of this confrontation that this defendant accepted he behaved criminally."

Strong was remanded in custody after his arrest until his appearance before the court.

Judge McIntyre said: "You have been in custody for almost six weeks, so you know what it is like.

"If you want to go back there for a long time, you go on behaving as you have done in the past."