Acquittal on assault charges

Press, 5 March 1980, Page 2

Acquittal on assault charges

A jury in the Supreme Court has found Wayne Michael Joseph Flynn, aged 22, a freezing worker, - not guilty on charges of assaulting Paul Benyon Cumming and Larry Noel Britt on October 13. Mr Justice Bisson discharged Flynn, who was represented by Mr K. J. Jones. Flynn had pleaded not guilty to both charges. The defence called no evidence.'

Mr G. K. Panckhurst appeared for the Crown. The Crown alleged that the offences were committed during a double birthday party at a house in Conway Street, Spreydon, when a man had the tip of a finger bitten off and suffered a gash across the top of an eye requiring six stitches, and another man had a finger bitten and a tooth knocked out.

In his address to the jury, Mr Jones submitted that the Crown had failed to prove that Flynn had intentionally assaulted Mr Britt and that when he assaulted Mr Cumming he was acting in selfdefence. It was a very confused situation, those at the party having been drinking for some time. There were conflicts and contradictions in the evidence given by the Crown witnesses. One witness had admitted that he did not like Flynn and that made his evidence euspect, Mr Jones said.