A MAN headbutted and kneed his colleague in the face at a work Christmas party during a “savage and unprovoked” attack.
Beniah Dishman, 34, left his victim with fractures to his eye, nose and cheekbone, needing surgery to repair his eye socket.
The defendant and victim worked as contractors at AJ Building and Plumbing Services and were celebrating their work Christmas do on December 23, 2021.
Prosecutor, Victoria Bastock, told Bournemouth Crown Court on August 9 the two men had previously had issues with each other and a few days before Christmas it came to a head.
The group were drinking at Felson’s bar in Bournemouth when the victim approached Dishman and asked if he had a problem with him.
Dishman began to wave his arms which made the victim feel threatened, so the man held his arm down.
Other colleagues intervened and the victim walked away before spotting the defendant mimicking a fight with a friend.
Dishman was seen imitating a headbutt before approaching the victim and said: “Do you want to fight about it then?”
The man thought he was joking but the defendant continued: “I will just headbutt you and knock you out.”
He then immediately headbutted the man in his eye before colleagues separated the pair.
However, while being moved away the defendant lunged and kneed the victim in the face for a final blow.
The victim said he was due to spend the following days celebrating Christmas with his family, however, did not want to cause distress for his father who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
Unfortunately, this ended up being the man’s last Christmas with his father before he passed away.
Following the incident, the man still experiences pain when he eats due to his broken teeth implants and requires two sets of glasses for damage to his eye.
He was also previously an undefeated league tennis player but can no longer play competitively.
Mitigating, Andrew Houston, said Dishman suffers from ADHD, which “must have had a significant factor in his reaction in Felson’s that night”.
He said the defendant, who has seven previous convictions, has kept himself out of trouble for 10 years before the offence.
Judge Robert Pawson said Dishman has a keen interest in cage fighting and martial arts and sought to intimidate the victim.
“You bullied him and stood to belittle him, you constantly undermined him.”
He added: “You just wanted to be seen a big man.”
Dishman, of Mount Road in Bournemouth, was jailed for two and a half years for assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.
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