Man handed suspended sentence for racist abuse

The Ballymoney Times reports on the suspended sentence handed to a man who called a male a “P*** b******” after getting drunk on the first anniversary of his cousin’s death.

Steven Johnstone, 21, was marking the one year anniversary of the death of his cousin, Adam Gilmour who was killed in a car collision in November 2014.

Instead of visiting his cousin’s grave with the rest of his family, Ballymena magistrates’ court heard Johnstone got drunk and called a man a “P*** b******” in Ballymena town centre on 11 November 2015.

When cautioned by police over his behaviour, Johnstone told officers “That person should not be in this country”.

Johnstone’s defence solicitor Emma McCann told the court her client had the “IQ of a twelve-year-old” and that there was “no logic to the incident.”

District Judge Des Perry said he could understand Johnstone’s grief but how or why he turned his anger into abuse “is beyond me.”

Johnstone was handed a three month jail sentence suspended for 18 months.