Teen allegedly ‘rugby-tackled’ ex to the ground before attempting to stab her in the eye

A court heard the young woman claims she was assaulted by Lee Somers as she made her way home on Saturday night after being out with friends.

Somers, 19, is alleged to have “rugby-tackled” his former partner in Antrim town before trying to stab her with a knife.

A police officer told the court they believe the teenager attacked the woman because she had been with “someone he doesn’t like”.

Shortly after 2am on Sunday morning, the court heard, police received a 999 call to attend an address in Antrim following reports of a disturbance.

Upon arrival at the address, officers spoke to the alleged injured party and saw she had a “very large” bump on her forehead.

A PSNI officer told the court the house was a in a “general state of disarray”.

The officer said the injured party was reluctant to speak to police while Somers was present.

Police spoke to the defendant and he claimed the injured party had fallen.

The defendant was arrested and removed from the house for an alleged breach of bail conditions.

After he left, the injured party told police she had been assaulted “a number of times”, both inside and outside the house by Somers.

She alleged that he “rugby-tackled” her in the street when she was walking home from a night out with friends.

He had not been out with her, but she claimed she had met someone “he didn’t like” and “someone must have told him”.

The injured party said she fell to the ground after being grabbed by Somers before he ran off.

When she got back to her house, she said the defendant was there waiting for her.

She claimed when she walked through the door, he swiped at her with a knife causing her to fall to the ground.

“She could feel it scrape her pupil and thought it had cut her eye out,” the officer told the court.

“She stated that he then grabbed her by the hair and grabbed her by the face and hit her multiple times, kicking her to the head two or three times.”

He is also accused of damaging furniture in the house.

The police officer said a knife was recovered from the property.

The officer said it was later established there were no bail conditions in place in relation to Somers, whose address in court documents was given as Kilgreel Walk in Antrim.

A defence solicitor said his client denied the offences and made the case the injured party was “very drunk and fell”.

In response, the officer said: “She was intoxicated but I don’t believe that excuses her from being attacked.”

The solicitor said Somers had been living with the injured party “for a number of months” and claimed there had been “no issues”.

However, the police officer said there have been “a number of domestics” involving Somers in the “last year”.

“They appear to be escalating. He has a conviction for breach of a non-molestation order. There were three arrests for breach of non-molestation orders and one of them has resulted in a conviction,” she said.

“This will be the third file to the PPS in less than a year and obviously as a result of this unprovoked attack, this is very concerning. Possibly jealousy, I am not sure what it is but if there was jealousy he has come out and attacked her believing she has been with somebody he doesn’t like.

“She has also made it very clear that she believes there would be reprisals from his family in relation to this. That is why she has still not made a statement but she is considering it.”

Applying for bail, the solicitor said Somers could live at his mother’s address outside Antrim, but the PSNI officer told the court police would object to Somers being released on bail.

His solicitor said Somers was working as a delivery driver for a furniture company.

The solicitor said he was concerned Somers would lose his job if remanded into custody.

He added that Somers and his former partner had been living together and said if the couple were “kept apart” it might address any “concerns” around him being released on bail.

However, bail was refused and Somers was remanded in custody.

“Given everything I have heard, there is a clear risk of reoffending,” the judge said.

“I have limited confidence in Mr Somers’s ability to abide by bail conditions given what I have heard from the detective constable in terms of the civil orders that have been in place in this court.”

The case will be back before Antrim court on February 14.