A MAN who glassed a Chester city centre bar reveller in the face has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Sergio Manzaneque, 39, of Duke Street, Settle, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty on the day he was due to stand trial at Chester Crown Court on a wounding charge.
He pleaded guilty on a basis that he had been provoked and assaulted, a basis which was not accepted by the prosecution, but the judge ruled a trial of issue was not necessary.
Prosecuting, Karl Scholz said it was November 8, 2021 when the victim and his friend had been in Ellesmere Port at a pub, before getting a taxi into Chester, where they had some food and it was nearly midnight when they entered Frankies bar on Watergate Street.
Mr Scholz said the "situation then became difficult" as Manzaneque sat close to the victim, and the court heard "disparaging" words were exchanged.
There was "a meeting of heads" and Manzaneque struck out at the victim with a beer glass he had been holding in his hands, which broke against the victim's left eyebrow.
The victim was taken to hospital with a T-shaped cut, measuring 2cm by 2cm, and required stitches, with the beginnings of a black eye and a soreness of the nose.
After being arrested, Manzaneque had a prepared statement in interview where he said he had been abused, that he had been headbutted, and he had been punched in the face.
Defending, Daniel Harman said the offence went back nearly 18 months and was "entirely out of character" for Manzaneque, and the prospect of prison "weighed heavily" on the defendant, who had viewed the court process as being like in a dark tunnel with no light at the end.
Manzaneque had no previous convictions and had been through a difficult time in his personal life in 2022, but had stayed out of trouble.
The judge, Recorder Lawrence McDonald, said whatever the circumstances which led up to the glassing, had the impact been 1cm lower, it could have led to the victim losing an eye.
He accepted there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
Manzaneque was ordered to pay the victim £1,000 compensation, plus £430 prosecution costs.
He must also carry out 100 hours unpaid work as part of a six-month prison sentence which was suspended for 12 months.
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