Caretaker At Luxury Belgravia Apartment Block Assaulted Local Doctor Kept Awake By Late-Night Party

Jose Pires

The residential caretaker of a landmark Belgravia apartment block was caught on his own CCTV pushing a doctor, who lives in a £2m flat across the road, down the steps of his building after he complained about late-night noise coming from the top floor.

Jose Pires, 40, who lives and works at Wilbraham Mansions, 10 Wilbraham Place angrily responded to 66 year-old Dr. Jay Saccone, of 9 Wilbraham Place pressing intercom buttons at 1am as he tried to find the source of the noise keeping him awake.

He was convicted at Hammersmith Magistrates Court today of assaulting the US-born retired physician in the early hours of October 24 and was fined £200, with £650 costs and was ordered to pay a £20 victim surcharge.

CCTV captured Pires answering the front door and gesticulating wildly at Dr. Saccone before shoving him away and following him across the road to his building, where he described the residents as “animals” and “pigs.”

Dr. Saccone told the court: “There was loud noise from coming across the street and after an hour I thought I would deal with it. It was quite loud music and voices and earplugs did not help me.

Dr. Jay Saccone

“There had been noise from this building before and I put on some clothes and went across the street and rang the porter's bell and asked the gentleman if he would deal with the noise.

“I rang a second bell because I thought I knew which flat it was from, but I got the wrong bell.

“I told the porter: 'Could you please deal with the noise. I'll come back in ten minutes,' and I went back to my flat, but nothing changed and the noise persisted.

“I rang the porter's bell again and asked him to deal with it and he came up to the front door and that's when he became angry and shouted at me and pushed me.

“His voice was raised and he was quite close to me. He said: 'Do you want me to headbutt you?'

“He pushed me with two hands fairly forcibly in the chest and then pushed me once or twice more.

“He followed me across the street and remonstrated more. He said at quite some volume: 'The people in your building are all animals, all pigs.' He was voluble and angry.”

Dr. Saccone denied he was drunk and “aggressive and abusive” and did not accept telling Pires: “Go f*** yourself.”

10 Wilbraham Place

Pires was questioned by police and denied pushing Dr. Saccone, who he said woke him in the early hours by shouting through the intercom.

He claimed the doctor “smelled of alcohol” was “rude” and “in his face” during the doorstep confrontation.

The caretaker insisted he was merely escorting Dr. Saccone from the premises and never pushed him.

Pires told the court there was a social gathering on the top floor of his building, but insisted it was not noisy and claimed he could not hear anything from his basement flat.

“On the intercom I heard someone with slurred speech say something about noise. It was not in a polite way, it was an abrupt way and he said: 'Go f*** yourself' and left.

“He was off his face, nothing I could say would move him from his vicious constant repeated visits.”

Pires claimed there was tension between the two buildings. “Our building is the more well-balanced building. There is discomfort from across the road because we are more composed, balanced, well mannered.

“The board from across the road has fully supported my case. There is friction between the board and Dr. Saccone.”

Jose Pires at 10 Wilbraham Place

Pires, who has a rent-free grace-and-favour flat, which at the time he was sharing with his partner and their young child, was supported by doctor's wife Suzanne Stacey, who lives in the apartment under where the party was held.

“The intercom started buzzing around 1am. He was pressing all the buttons and waking everyone in the building up,” she told the court.

She looked outside and saw Dr. Saccone in the street. “He was swaying about a bit as if he was drunk.”


Convicting Pires the magistrates announced: “There was more force than an ushering movement.”

The court also heard even though he has no criminal convictions Pires has come to the attention of the police for similar domestic incidents.