A LLANDEILO man was told that his army career was over before it started after he was convicted of racially abusing a kebab shop worker.
Christopher O’Connor spat in the face of the employee at the Best Pizza and Kebab Takeaway in Murray Street, Llanelli, after launching a series of racist insults when he was refused food.
O’Connor, 26, pleaded guilty to charges of racially aggravated assault and racially aggravated harassment when he appeared at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (May 31).
Prosecuting, Sian Vaughan told the court that in the early hours of April 27, O’Connor entered to takeaway and was told that it was closed and there was no food left.
He then started verbally abusing the staff member, and after he was told to leave began punching the shop windows. Shortly after he re-entered the premises and threw other customers’ meals to the floor.
O’Connor told the staff that he was in the army, and launched a string of further racial epithets at the employee, including a number of insulting remarks about his mother, who the court heard had recently passed away, before spitting in his face.
In a victim impact statement, the complainant said that the experience was very upsetting and in 18 years working he had never been spoken to like that.
A representative of the probation service said that in spite of a previous conviction for a racially aggravated offence in 2007, O’Connor didn’t consider himself to be racist and he claimed that he had friends and family members from different ethnic backgrounds. They explained that O’Connor was not under the influence of drink or drugs at the time of the incident.
O’Connor’s solicitor David Williams told the court that his client denied using some of the language claimed by the prosecution, but admitted spitting in the complainant’s face.
“The aggravating features are the previous convictions, the time and the location. There is genuine remorse in this case,” he added.
Mr Williams said that O’Connor, who was currently employed as a part-time builder, had been accepted for the selection process to join the army, but had been told that a conviction could jeopardise this.
District Judge Hodkinson sentenced O’Connor to eight weeks imprisonment, suspended for a year, and ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, and pay costs and compensation totalling £400.
“Unfortunately your army career has finished before it even started,” he remarked. “I’d rather punish you by giving you long hours of unpaid work, it’s better for you to be out helping the community than being in a cell.”
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