Man lashes out in car park dispute

Saturday 10 August 2019

A 54-year-old stonemason has been fined £1,500 after he lost his temper with a new neighbour and smashed her car window.

On 10 June, Lance Vaudin became increasingly upset during an argument over the way the victim had parked her car in their shared parking area.

He was worried the vehicle was blocking him in to his home, which meant he would not be able to leave to get to hospital - something he had to be able to do at any time because of a health condition.

Vaudin had just had a pacemaker fitted, and was given an alarm. If that alarm sounded, he was told he needed to get himself to the PEH as fast as he could, and because of his decreased mobility, he was worried he would not be able to leave his property with the way the vehicle had been parked. 

The Magistrate's Court heard that Vaudin had been aggressive from the start of the argument, swearing at the woman, and she had got into her car to go to Guernsey Police station to make a complaint. 

The defendant's advocate, Mark Dunster, told the court his client knew the way in which he had reacted was inappropriate. He began banging on the woman's car window when she tried to leave because 'he was not done arguing'. He did not know it would smash after just a number of hits, showering the woman in fragments. She suffered lacerations to her face when it broke. 

The victim was trying to leave to go to the Police Station when she was assaulted. 

He pleaded guilty on the basis of reckless, unintentional assault. 

Judge Graeme McKerrell found the way Vaudin had acted after the assault to be in his favour, because he had shown remorse by attempting to apologise to the woman on multiple occasions, and also independently arranging to pay her for the damage he caused to her vehicle. 

Vaudin had one previous related conviction from 10 years ago.

Judge McKerrell said: "Any repetition of this behaviour in the future will not be dealt with in the same way". 

The £1,500 fine would be equivalent to 75 days in prison in default of payment.

Pictured top: Guernsey's Court building.