A MAN has been found not guilty of unlawful wounding after a violent incident at a pub in the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2022.

William Griffiths, 29, had pleaded not guilty following the incident in the Golden Lion in Carmarthen on the basis of self-defence.

Griffiths said he threw the glass at Jonathan Walters for “safety” as he “felt threatened”. He said that Mr Walters had been saying he was going to throw a glass at him, and that the only exit was on the other side of the complainant.

Following a one and a half day trial, the jury deliberated for just over an hour before returning a unanimous not guilty verdict.

“You’re discharged Mr Griffiths,” said Judge Christopher Vosper KC. “You can leave the dock.”

Judge Vosper thanked the jury for their service, adding “It was a short case, but it was an important one”.

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During the trial, the jury were played CCTV footage from the pub which showed Mr Walters approaching the booth where Griffiths was sat with a friend.

Mr Walters sat down and began talking with the friend – who he also knew.

The CCTV footage showed Griffiths throw a drink over Mr Walters, and the three people in the booth started talking.

Mr Walters then threw a drink over Griffiths – although it was not clear from the footage where that glass ended up – and Griffiths then threw a glass at Mr Walters, which struck him in the head.

Mr Walters then threw another glass “in the direction” of Griffiths and ran out of the pub.  

Mr Walters said he had gone out with friends after finishing work at around 10pm on New Year's Eve, and had been at the Golden Lion for around half an hour before the incident.

He said his two friends had gone to the toilet, and he went to see if there was anyone else in the pub who he knew.

Prosecutor Brian Simpson said Mr Walters began talking with the friend – who he also knew – and Griffiths “started calling him names”.

However, Griffiths, of Ferry Point Road in Llansteffan, said Mr Walters was “bothering other people” that night before he came over to the table. This was while Covid restrictions were in place meaning groups had to stick to their own tables.

Griffiths said Mr Walters directed a homophobic slur at him and was acting “aggressively”. He said he was getting up to leave and put his face mask on, when Mr Walters repeated the slur. Then he threw the first drink, he said.

He told the jury Mr Walters was saying he was going to throw a glass at him, so he threw the second glass for “safety” as he “felt threatened” and was “trapped” as the only exit was on the other side of the complainant.

Mr Simpson put it to Griffiths that his first throw – where the drink went over the complainant – was an underarm motion, while the second throw – where the glass connected with Mr Walters’ head – was an overarm throw.

“It slipped out of my hand,” Griffiths said.

In an interview with police on November 4 last year, Griffiths said: “I chucked a glass at him. I didn’t mean to hurt him in any way.

“I didn’t think it (the glass) was going to leave my hand.”

The court heard Mr Walters had a cut above his right eye from the glass, and later went to hospital and needed seven stitches.

“I told them I fell instead of telling them the full story. I wasn’t sure I wanted to have all this,” he said, referring to the court proceedings.

Matthew Murphy, defending, questioned whether Mr Walters didn’t tell the hospital staff the full story was because he didn’t want to get in to trouble for his role in the incident.