Man jailed for North Plantation assault

Tuesday 20 October 2020

A 19-year-old has been sent back to youth detention after punching a man in the face in the North Plantation.

Nathan Domaille has been sentenced to five months at Les Nicolles.

In the early hours of the morning on Friday 4 September, police were called to the gardens by the North Plantation, where they found someone lying on the ground surrounded by a group of people. Just behind them were Domaille and another man, who were facing each other in a "confrontational mode".

Domaille was then seen to punch the man in the face, causing him to stumble backwards.

Officers told Domaille to stop and went to apprehend him, however, he ran off before tripping up in Le Tourgand, where police caught up with him. 

In interview, Domaille said he ran away because he "panicked" and that he had "a justifiable excuse" for punching the man in the North Plantation. 

Pictured: Domaille was sentenced to five months in youth detention, backdated to 14 September, the time since which he has been remanded in custody. 

He was arrested and placed on conditional bail following the incident. However, on Saturday 12 September, he was seen in Sausmarez Street by officers who "noticed that his eyes were glazed". He would not take a breath test and was arrested. 

The Crown Prosecutor said that Domaille has a number of previous matters on his record, including an 11-month sentence handed out in December 2019.

His Defence Advocate said Domaille had felt threatened by the other man, who was "making fists at him."

"He has not suggested it was self-defence, but he did not know what the intentions of the other gentlemen were."

Judge Gary Perry said that Domaille's offending behaviour was troubling, with these offences coming shortly after being released from youth detention. 

"What you need to understand is when you assault somebody, punches can kill people or seriously injure them. You seem to resort to violence when under pressure or, more likely, under the influence of alcohol."

"You are unwilling to respond to non-custodial penalties."

He sentenced Domaille to four months in youth detention for assault, and an extra month for behaving in a disorderly manner while on bail.