Market Drayton screwdriver stabbing suspect denies claim
A Market Drayton man accused of stabbing an acquaintance with a screwdriver says he did not see the alleged victim in an alleyway and was not armed with a tool.
Daniel Parton is accused of attacking Brian Minton in an alley near the town centre in Market Drayton, stabbing his left hand with a screwdriver after barging into him.
Parton is said to have just come from the town square where he is alleged to have pushed trader Paul Wilmer, causing him a knee injury, on February 22.
But giving evidence during a trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court Parton said he was upset because Mr Wilmer had called him a ‘smackhead’, a slang term for a heroin addict.
The case so far:
Parton said: “He is a tall bloke and I thought he might start something. He carried on and on at me. I pushed him, I’m not going to lie. I was angry. I didn’t spit at him.”
“I pushed him away from me, so I could get away from him. I was going to the flats.
“I returned and he’s obviously seen me going and put his arm around me. I was being pulled down to the ground.
Legs
“He grabbed my legs like when you play rugby and they take the opposition round the legs to get them to fall.
“I wasn’t kicking him, I was just trying to step out of it to get my legs free.
“There was a lot of noise coming from the people who were there.
“I don’t know what people were saying because it was quite loud.”
He added: “I didn’t see Brian Minton in the alley and I wasn’t carrying a screwdriver. I never attacked him.”
The court earlier heard from prosecuting barrister Mr John Brotherton who said Parton made a beeline for Mr Minton in the alleyway even though it was wide enough for them to pass. It was said Mr Minton saw a glint of something metal before feeling a pain in his hand and noticed he was bleeding.
Parton told the jury he accidentally caught shoulders with Mr Minton earlier that day outside the Savers store in Oak Court and he accepted that he did see him in the Wetherspoon pub later on. He denied taking illegal drugs that day.
Giving evidence for the prosecution, Mr Wilmer said he was on crutches for about six weeks as a result of being pushed by Parton.
After CCTV footage of the incident was played in court Mr Wilmer told the jury he was “in a daze” following his fall but conceded that the defendant did not appear to kick him.
Parton, aged 34, of Rowan Road, Market Drayton, denies two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one count of affray and one count of common assault. The trial continues.
