A young oil broker, accused of deliberately smashing a whiskey glass into another City professional’s head - slashing his ear - was cleared yesterday.
Cleared: Albie Crathern
Albie Crathern, 22, claimed the complainant - a recruitment headhunter celebrating his birthday - and his work colleague were “taking the Mickey” and dismissing his claim to be a Square Mile broker.
Crathern, of Heather Drive, Romford was found not guilty of one count of wounding Juan Carlos Roberts, 27, in the Nickel Bar of The Ned, a luxury five-star hotel, near the Bank of England on February 18, 2019.
The Crown Prosecution Service offered no further evidence on day two of the trial and the not guilty verdict was entered.
Graduate recruitment specialist Mr Roberts changed his version of events during his evidence at Inner London Crown Court, claiming the CCTV showed Crathern snatching the glass from his hand instead of his initial claim the defendant picked it up off the table.
He had consumed five whiskey cocktails and a beer during his birthday celebration with workmate Tom Andrews when the defendant and a friend sat nearby at 9.30pm.
Initially Crathern seemed interested in what smart-suited Mr Roberts was wearing and what he and his friend did for a living in the City, the trial heard.
“They started speaking to us and it got progressively more aggressive. He asked me where I went to university and told Tom if he had gone to university he would have a better job than recruitment.
“He made some sort of derogatory comment about us working in sales and I told him broking is also a sales job.
“It escalated and the defendant said to Tom: ’Shut up, or I’ll knock you out,’ and I asked for the bill and started leaving and I stood in between both of them.
“He picked up my whiskey glass and swung it and I saw it at the last second and turned my face away and the glass smashed my ear and neck.”
However, after watching CCTV from the witness box Mr Roberts changed his evidence and admitted Crathern and his friend were face to face.
He also conceded the whiskey glass was in his own hand. “He takes it from my hand and hits me in the head, you can see it clearly,” added Mr Roberts.
“I had a laceration. My ear was hanging down and a shard of glass went through the back of my head and I had two surgeries.
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| Birthday: Juan Carlos Roberts |
“A few seconds after I lost some sort of consciousness and was ushered to the back of the hotel. When I took the shard of glass out of my head blood started gushing everywhere.”
An ambulance rushed Mr Roberts to the Royal London Hospital. “It was a fifty fifty chance they could save my ear and the first surgery was to reconnect the ear and the second surgery to remove broken glass.”
He denied a defence suggestion of “making up” the university jibe from Crathern and “talking bull****” about the defendant being a legitimate oil trader.
Crathern’s lawyer Josh Normanton said: “The suggestion is you are taking the Mickey out of this defendant, ribbing and bullying him that he is making up being an oil trader.”
Mr Roberts denied this, saying: “I disagree that we antagonised him about his profession,” also denying Crathern accidentally knocked the whiskey glass into his head.
Crathern says he was striking at Mr Andrews and accidentally caught Mr Roberts’ arm.
“You walk into this and as the defendant strikes across he hits your whiskey glass into your face,” suggested the lawyer.
“Is it true you are standing up to get in the defendant’s face? It is an accident. You have gone into the confrontation and that glass has got knocked into your head.”
Mr Roberts insisted: “It was not accidental.”
“You are trying to find a way to ensure this defendant pays the penalty for the injuries you have suffered,” suggested Mr Normanton. “It is a far from honest account. You have lied.”
Mr Roberts quit his City job after the incident and no longer works in the area. “I have slight paranoia about being outside and in the first year or so it was very challenging.
“I have a large amount of scarring where the shard of glass went through the back of my head.”
He told the court he turned down the option of further cosmetic surgery.
Earlier prosecutor John Livingston told the jury: “He suffered tear injuries to his left ear and Mr Crathern inflicted the wound.
“A shard of glass was smashed into his ear, causing a severe wound. He tears part of the outside of the lobe and part of the ear behind.”
Security staff detained Crathern and police were called to the hotel.
He claimed he was acting in self-defence and told the officers: “I have been provoked. I was reacting to what was said to me.”
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