Prison for man who threatened to slit probation officer's throat

Sunday 27 November 2022

A 56-year-old man who shouted racial abuse at a bar manager and tried to spit in his face, broke a glass panel by headbutting it, and told a probation officer "I'll slit your throat and all your family" has been jailed for five months.

Antonio Romano Capuano, who was sentenced in the Magistrate's Court this week, headbutted a panel in the probation office reception area, causing it to shatter.

Advocate Jordan Gollop, prosecuting, said Capuano told a staff member, "You should be scared of me," before making the threat to kill.

The Advocate said: "He headbutted the panel, causing fragments of glass to fall on the desk and floor."

Pictured: Capuano was sentenced in the Magistrate's Court this week.

At 14:00 that afternoon Capuano went to So bar on the Esplanade but was refused service for being rude to staff and customers there a few days earlier.

He shouted racial abuse at the Polish manager and spat at him, which failed to hit him.

Capuano was arrested at 16:30 in La Colomberie.

The court that Capuano had a string of previous convictions, and Advocate Paul Nicholls, defending, conceded: "Incidents like these have arisen in the past."

But he pointed out: "To his credit he left both places voluntarily. He wasn't dragged away by police."

Capuano had previously admitted malicious damage and had denied assault and being disorderly on premises. But he entered guilty pleas to the other two charges yesterday, and the Advocate said by doing so he had spared witnesses the need to come to court.

"He has avoided the time, the trauma and the trouble of a trial," he said.

Assistant Magistrate Peter Harris said Capuano would get some credit for his guilty pleas but not the full discount possible, since they had not been entered at the earliest opportunity.

He said his language had been "shockingly inappropriate" and told him: "Had the spit been any closer you would be looking at a much lengthier sentence."

He sentenced him to three months for assault, one month for being disorderly and one month for malicious damage, all to run consecutively.

He added: "We hope you will reflect and after your release you will put some distance between yourself and these courts."