Cabbie assaulted ex wife and her partner he found in bed together
Tuesday, 2 November, 2010 18:08 PM
A London cabbie flew into a rage when he found his wife in bed with another man at their Fenland home, magistrates heard this week.
According to the couple found in bed, Michael Potten was armed with a tyre wrench when he walked into the bedroom.
But he claims to have had nothing more than a mobile phone in his hand before he assaulted the pair.
Potten, 45, admitted two charges of assault when he appeared before Fenland magistrates.
But he did not accept the version of events given to the court by the Crown Prosecution Service, so evidence will be heard by Fenland magistrates on January 25, before he is sentenced.
Prosecutor Andrea Fawcett said Potten and his wife of 16 years were estranged, and his wife was in bed with her new partner at Murrow on September 1 when she was awoken by a stomping sound.
“The bedroom door opened and the defendant was standing in the doorway holding an item believed to be a tyre wrench,” she said.
Potten was abusive, and hit the bed with the item he was holding.
He then pushed his wife, she landed on the floor, and he punched her, causing her nose to bleed. He punched the man in the face.
“There is no suggestion he used the tyre wrench and both complainants left the premises, “ she said. “They noticed he was still holding the wrench.”
When arrested in the early hours, Potten said he had gone to the property because he thought “something was going on” at home.
“I found my Mrs in bed with another bloke, I was in a rage,” he told police.
Potten, 45, of St Luke’s Estate, in London EC1, denied that the couple were estranged, and denied having a wrench with him at the time of the assault. He admitted slapping his wife, but denied punching her.
Potten, who is a member of the RAF Reserve and is due to go to Afghanistan in October, was given conditional bail until his sentencing.
Source; http://www.wisbechstandard.co.uk/news/c ... r_1_716022