A man left his partner with bite marks and other injuries after throwing a brick at her following an argument fuelled by either drink or drugs.
Daniel Littlewood assaulted his then-partner following a blazing row in March this year and threw a brick at her after he "lost his temper". The 36-year-old, of Darlington Road, Ferryhill, also caused damage to the woman's TV after throwing her mobile phone at it days before the assault. Littlewood appeared at Durham Crown Court on Monday where he pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was also sentenced for two counts of criminal damage.
Allan Armbrister, prosecuting, said Littlewood and the woman had been in a "volatile relationship" for around a year, which coincided with him splitting up with a former partner, who he had harassed. Mr Armbrister said that on March 13 this year, Littlewood and his then-partner "either drank a lot or had taken drugs" and an argument ensued.
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He said: "There was some form of argument and some form of fight. The police were called at the end of the day and the complainant was interviewed. She did not engage with police and never provided a statement. The evidence comes from the 999 call and what was said afterwards.
"It was clear the complainant had been bitten at some stage and there were marks across her face. We can discern that there had been two or three incidents where the two had come into contact with each other. The defendant then left the house but lost his temper and then threw what appears to be a brick and a mix of concrete towards the end of the complainant's house and striking her on the hand."
The court heard that Littlewood said he was "protecting himself from her when she was armed with either a knife or a hammer" and said in interview he threw the brick after losing his temper because he was angry. Mr Armbrister said there was "no medical evidence" regarding the injuries the woman sustained. Littlewood also had previous convictions, including harassing a former partner and was given a community order for assaulting an emergency worker - which was in place at the time of the March offence.
Ms Goodwin, defending Littlewood, said he had started to address his mental health and physical issues and had been remanded in custody for four months. She asked for credit for his guilty plea. She added Littlewood was a qualified fire engineer who has a "very supportive relationship with his family".
Sentencing Littlewood, Recorder Jamie Hill QC said: "It is very difficult to know precisely what was happening, but it is clear your relationship was turning toxic. Events got incredibly out of hand and we don't know exactly how she got those marks as she has not engaged with the prosecution. You lost your temper and threw a lump of brick which hit her arm. Two criminal damage offences were committed shortly before this."
Recorder Hill QC handed Littlewood a 26 week prison sentence, but he will be due for immediate release because of the time he has already served in custody. His community order remains in place.
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