A man pleaded guilty to common assault and damaging property in Magistrates’ Court Monday,
after allegedly punching a tourist in the face near the cruise ship dock.
“I’d like to apologise to the court for hitting him,” Sonnel Hanley, 29, told Senior Magistrate Valerie Stephens. “Please, give me a chance.”
Crown Counsel Jude Hanley introduced the allegations to the court.
“Although we share the same name, we’re not actually related,” she said of the defendant. “I just wanted to make that clear.”
On July 5, a security guard at the cruise ship dock in Road Town made a report of a tourist being assaulted and asked for police assistance, according to Ms. Hanley.
William Panarelli was standing outside of the bathrooms near the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park waiting for his wife, the prosecutor added.
“Mr. Hanley passed by him, then turned around and punched him in the face,” she said.
See the July 12, 2012 edition for full coverage.
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