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Man convicted after Facebook brag of assault on cyclist

Victim recognised assailant after posts on social network were drawn to his attention
by Simon_MacMichael
Fri, Nov 27, 2015 13:10
12

A man has been convicted of assaulting a cyclist in a town in North Wales after he was caught because he bragged about the incident on Facebook.

The victim of the attack on Church Street, Mold in July last year, Anthony Burrows, aged 47, alerted police to the boasting posts on made on the social network after they were drawn to his atttention and he recognised his assailant.

Mold Crown Court heard that Michael Hill, 31, from Shotton, had attacked Mr Burrows after his then partner complained he was cycling on the pavement, reports News North Wales.

He punched the cyclist, who fell from his bike, hitting his head on railings. While he was on the ground, Hill hit him four more times. Mr Burrows needed treatment for a head injury and also sustained scratches, cuts and a black eye.

When interviewed by police after being identified through Facebook, Hill declined to comment. At first he pleaded not guilty, saying he was acting in self-defence, but he later entered a written guilty plea.

At his trial, Hill interrupted Judge Geraint Walters as he passed sentence and repeated his claim that he had acted in self-defence.

However, the judge told him that a guilty plea normally indicated remorse and acceptance of blame.

He sentenced him to 10 months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, and Hill will also have to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and will be subject to an electronic curfew between 8pm and 6am for three months.

“You did ultimately plead guilty although you are doing your level best at the moment to remove that credit,” the judge said.

Referring to Hill's intervention in the argument between the woman who was his partner at the time and Mr Burrows, he said: “When he was on the ground you delivered several other punches to him.

"There was no justification for that whatsoever.

“Decent, civilised 31-year-olds do not behave like that in public places,” he added.

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Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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12 comments

Avatar
ridein | 9 years ago
4 likes

Facebook finally redeems itself for a brief moment

Avatar
KiwiMike | 9 years ago
6 likes

MULTIPLE ROAD.CC COMMENTER LACK OF SENSE OF HUMOUR KLAXON

 

(FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT: The entire Velominati schtick is a pisstake in and of itself. The beauty of it is that it folds into itself with genuinely useful nuggets of cycling wisdom. If nothing else, it's a way to flush out the dryballs)

Avatar
cyclingtiger replied to KiwiMike | 9 years ago
2 likes

KiwiMike wrote:

MULTIPLE ROAD.CC COMMENTER LACK OF SENSE OF HUMOUR KLAXON

 

(FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT: The entire Velominati schtick is a pisstake in and of itself. The beauty of it is that it folds into itself with genuinely useful nuggets of cycling wisdom. If nothing else, it's a way to flush out the dryballs)

 

WARNING: YOU HAVE FALLEN INTO THE SARCHASM

Avatar
Bikebikebike replied to KiwiMike | 9 years ago
0 likes

KiwiMike wrote:

MULTIPLE ROAD.CC COMMENTER LACK OF SENSE OF HUMOUR KLAXON

 

(FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT: The entire Velominati schtick is a pisstake in and of itself. The beauty of it is that it folds into itself with genuinely useful nuggets of cycling wisdom. If nothing else, it's a way to flush out the dryballs)

 

KiwiMike, are you the same KiwiMike who came boarding with us to Vail?

Avatar
ron611087 | 9 years ago
3 likes

Quote:

"You did ultimately plead guilty although you are doing your level best at the moment to remove that credit,” the judge said.

The sincerity if his guilty plea should be guaged by the fact that he boasted about his actions on social media. Far from being remorseful all evidence suggests he was was proud of what he did.

Avatar
Must be Mad | 9 years ago
0 likes

Quote:

What are the velominati's criteria for being a cyclist, then?

Might have something to do with following the rules??

 

Avatar
brooksby replied to Must be Mad | 9 years ago
2 likes

Must be Mad wrote:

Quote:

What are the velominati's criteria for being a cyclist, then?

Might have something to do with following the rules??

 

 

OK, so not too inclusive, then? I wonder how many people see the Rules as a Thing and not a Satirical Thing.

(Can we set up a Discordian society of cyclists, instead...?)

Avatar
Legin replied to Must be Mad | 9 years ago
1 like

Must be Mad wrote:

Quote:

What are the velominati's criteria for being a cyclist, then?

Might have something to do with following the rules??

Is that the rules that nobody riding a bike before 2008 had ever heard of before, or are they the same rules, that many of us learned from older clubmates, who learned them from guys who raced before WWII?

Or are these the rules written by some of our friends from the USofA who believe Campagnolo is abbreviated to "Campy" rather than Campag (as most normal people refer to it) and falsley believed there had been no other TDF winners from their fine nation until Lance turned up? 

Its just that I ride my bike 3-4 times a week applying the rules learned from real riders not some fantasy set made up for whatever.....

Avatar
Old Nick | 9 years ago
8 likes

Indeed KiwiMike.

I had to report an incident a couple of months ago and was refered to as a cyclist by the police. I asked the police if they would have refered to me as a driver if I had arrived in a car, they looked at me blankly, completely oblivious to the point I was making.

 

Avatar
KiwiMike | 9 years ago
13 likes

"Man convicted after Facebook brag of assault on cyclist person who happened to be on a bicycle at the time" 

 

As the Velominati put it: We are Cyclists. The rest of the world merely rides a bike.

Avatar
brooksby replied to KiwiMike | 9 years ago
2 likes

KiwiMike wrote:

"Man convicted after Facebook brag of assault on cyclist person who happened to be on a bicycle at the time" 

 

As the Velominati put it: We are Cyclists. The rest of the world merely rides a bike.

I am getting heartily sick of this cyclists/not-cyclists nonsense.  If they walk, they are a pedestrian. If they drive a car they are a motorist. If someone rides a bike then they are a cyclist.

What are the velominati's criteria for being a cyclist, then? Road bike, lycra, gel sachets? Dutch bike and a milk crate? Courier bag and tattoos? How many miles per week do you have to do to be a *real* cyclist?  Or do you have to have a certain number of sportives or real races under your belt?

Grrr...

Avatar
cyclingtiger replied to brooksby | 9 years ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

As the Velominati put it: We are Cyclists. The rest of the world merely rides a bike.

What are the velominati's criteria for being a cyclist, then?

[/quote]

 

Mostly you have to be a vain, self-obsessed onanist.

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