Man and woman punched during attack in Cookstown pizza outlet

A COOKSTOWN man who assaulted two people and acted aggressively towards staff in a Cookstown takeaway has been ordered to pay compensation to his victims.

Appearing before Dungannon Magistrates Court on Friday was Connor Neeson (24), of Ballynagilly Road, Cookstown.

The court heard that, on July 7, police received two reports of assaults that had taken place in an Apache Pizza takeaway in Cookstown.

It was heard that upon entering the takeaway, a man was punched in the face by Neeson and when a woman intervened, Neeson punched her in the head.

The court also heard that Neeson acted aggressively towards the staff in the takeaway.

Neeson was arrested and conveyed to Dungannon custody where he initially stated that he was ‘acting in self defence’ before giving a ‘no comment’ interview.

The incident was caught on CCTV and footage was presented to the court.

‘unacceptable’

Describing his actions as ‘unacceptable behaviour’, a defence solicitor asked the court to consider Neeson’s guilty plea when deciding on sentencing.

The defence solicitor also noted that Neeson is the first member of his family to come before a court and that he is currently in full-time employment with no previous convictions.

He said that, on the night, Neeson ‘had too much to drink’ but had been fully cooperative.

Upon viewing the CCTV evidence, District Judge Rafferty described Neeson’s actions as ‘disgraceful behaviour’ and told him there was ‘no cause’ to act how he did.

Neeson was ordered to pay £400 compensation to each of the injured parties.