5 Jan 2008
Taxi Firm Owner Told He is Likely To Face Jail
A taxi firm owner's violent past has been revealed after a jury found him
guilty of beating up his teenage nephew.
Judge Paul Darlow warned 37-year-old Anthony Quinn he almost inevitably
faces jail, after a jury found him guilty of assaulting his 17-year-old
nephew Scott Tigwell, causing him actual bodily harm.
The jury convicted Quinn, of Colleton Way, Exmouth, by a 10-2 majority
after considering their verdict for nearly three-and-a-half hours since the
day before.
He had denied the charge and bowed his head, closing his eyes as the
verdict was announced.
Prosecutor Terry Holder told the court, after the verdict, that Quinn had a
history of violence and other crimes going back to 1983, although he has
been out of trouble in the last eight years before the latest incident.
His convictions began with a robbery when he was a teenager, demanding
money from school pupils.
Convictions for actual bodily harm include attacking a man outside a
nightclub in the Strand in the town.
He seriously injured another man in a wounding in 1998, although details
of the injuries were not given in court.
The court heard the defendant lost his temper in the latest incident.
The pair were playfighting at Quinn's house after a funeral pub crawl in
memory of Mr Tigwell's grandfather.
The prosecution said Quinn repeatedly punched his victim and stamped
twice on his head.
Mr Tigwell lost consciousness but woke up and escaped, although he was
later reluctant to press charges.
Quinn told the court that the playfighting never took place and instead Mr
Tigwell put him in a headlock when he ordered him not to go into the
garden where his Alsatian dogs were.
He said Mr Tigwell injured himself as the defendant struggled to get out of
the headlock.
Defence counsel David Sapiecha said Quinn had stayed out of trouble in
recent years and settled down.
Judge Paul Darlow said: "It's almost inevitable it's custody, the question is
how long."
The judge said Quinn would be sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court,
rather than Exeter, on a date to be set.
The defendant is banned from contacting his nephew as a new condition of
his bail imposed after the verdict.
Source: Express & Echo
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