A MAN who launched an unprovoked attack on a police officer by punching him in the face had been drinking.
Carl David Heatherington, 20, was approached by PC Andrew Jones and a colleague and was asked his name.
Heatherington said he was 'Marko' and when asked his surname replied 'Marko doing a runner'.
Prosecutor Justin Espie explained: 'At that point he struck the officer directly in the face with a punch to the left of his face.
'It was to the lower jaw with a clenched fist and he struggled violently as he was taken to the floor.'
Mr Espie told Flintshire magistrates that the aggravating features of the case were that it was a direct punch, totally unprovoked, on a police
officer. Heatherington also had a previous conviction for assaulting a police officer.
Heatherington, who lives in a flat in Hope Street in Saltney, admitted assaulting PC Jones in the September 3 incident.
The court was told that at about 1am police received a call to say that a defendant was threatening a female with a knife and they attended Ewart Street in Saltney Ferry.
The man had gone, officers spoke to the woman, and then left - but immediately received a call to say that the man had returned.
Police went back, approached the defendant and it was then that the assault took place.
Magistrates adjourned the case for a pre-sentence report but warned that all sentencing options, including custody, would remain open.
