Retford: Man gets suspended sentence for assault in town bar

Jonathan McCague, 25, of Richmond Road, admitted attacking Johnathan Pettett in the Yates’s Wine Bar in Retford in March.

The court was shown CCTV footage of the incident in which McCague punched Mr Pettett after believing him to be the man who had taken his hat off him while in the bar.

However, the footage showed that it had been another man who had done that and McCague had lashed out at the wrong man.

In court, McCague, who was not represented by a solicitor, said he had had problems with alcohol in the past but he had worked to change that after spending time in prison. He also said he had apologised to Mr Pettitt.

District Judge Baker said: “This was an unprovoked assault which caused very unpleasant injuries and you have a past record for violence.

“While you get credit for pleading guilty straight away, custody is the only appropriate sentence.”

In addition to the 12-week sentence, which was suspended for a year, McCague was also given a concurrent one-week suspended sentence for turning up late at court and a two-year exclusion order from Yate’s in Retford.

He was also given an six-week curfew banning him from leaving his home between 7pm every evening and 7am the following morning, and ordered to pay £400 in compensation to Mr Pettett, an £80 surcharge and £85 costs.