A 32-year-old Pembroke man convicted of hitting another man over the head with a beer bottle has been given a 24-month suspended sentence.

At a previous court appearance on May 21, Omar Patterson was found guilty of assaulting Keeron Lewis and doing him bodily harm in a Pembroke nightclub on October 4 last year.

The court heard that Patterson struck Mr Lewis over the head with the bottle, resulting in a cut to his ear and bruising to his head.

While Patterson admitted striking Mr Lewis during his trial, he maintained that his actions were in self defence because he had been provoked and that he did not realise he was holding the bottle.

Magistrate Archibald Warner, however, noted that there were inconsistencies in the witness statements and said that he was satisfied that Patterson’s version of events were not true. He said this was a case where the defendant simply attacked the complainant after a conversation and smashed him over the head with the bottle he was holding.

Mr Warner added that the Patterson is “solely to blame for this offence”.

“There is no doubt that this behaviour — assaults in a nightclub, in public, unprovoked — are becoming prevalent in this society and of course must be considered and young people must be deterred from this type of behaviour,” Mr Warner said.

In sentencing Patterson, Mr Warner took into account his personal circumstances, that he apologised to the complainant and that the offence was “out of character”.

Mr Warner handed him a six-month prison term, which is to be suspended for 24 months.

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