Omagh man convicted of assaulting his elderly neighbour

A COURT has found a 58-year-old Omagh man guilty of assaulting his elderly neighbour following a dispute that escalated in her garden.

Stanley Fowler, of Edinburgh Park, appeared before Omagh Magistrates Court on Tuesday to contest the charges against him.

The incident occurred on June 30, when Fowler allegedly entered the woman’s garden and struck her during an altercation.

The hearing began with the victim giving her version of events.

The elderly woman, who has known Fowler for ‘many years’, said that, on June 30, she was sitting on a chair in her garden.

She said she heard Fowler shout ‘look at the shape of you’ before she saw him.

The woman claimed that he came into the garden and went to her door, where the victim’s husband was coming down the stairs.

She told the court that Fowler told her husband, “I would have had that woman shot a long time ago”, before leaving the property.

She claimed that a few minutes after he returned and asked “What’s your problem?” with the woman replying, “You’re my problem.”

She said that Fowler came back in to the garden and punched her with his left hand, adding that she had a swollen lip for ‘three days’ afterwards.

When questioned by the prosecutor, she woman said that Fowler had a dog on his lead when the incident happened.

Defence counsel Brian O’Sullivan questioned the woman on ‘inconsistencies’ between her statement and her account in court, such as which hand was used to allegedly strike the woman and the lack of injuries recorded in the statement.

Fowler took to the stand after and said that his flat was a short distance from the victim’s house. He explained to the court that he was friendly with the husband, but not with the woman.

He said that, on June 30, he was walking home when the woman shouted something at him and he began shouting back.

He said that, during the verbal altercation, his dog, a 15-year-old Jack Russell, came free from his lead and ran into the house.

Fowler said he ran into the house after the dog to collect it and left shortly after. He admitted that there was a ‘history’ of arguments between him and the complainant but denied ever hitting her.

Deputy District Judge Francis Rafferty questioned how a 15-year-old dog could have pulled the 58-year-old defendant into the garden, stating, “It wasn’t a St Bernard, was it?”

Judge Rafferty found Fowler guilty of the assault.

Judge Rafferty fined Fowler £200 and ordered the 58-year-old man to pay £200 in compensation.

A restraining order of two years was made in favour of the complainant and a warning to ‘turn the other cheek’ was made by the judge to both parties.