Crown Court trial for Carlisle man accused of blowing raspberry at WPC

A CARLISLE man is facing a crown court trial - accused of assaulting a police sergeant by blowing a raspberry in her face.

Roger Paul Murphy's case was sent to the court after he initially appeared before magistrates and elected to have his case put before jury during a trial which is expected to last for at least one day.

Representing himself legally, Murphy, 49, formally entered a not guilty plea to the allegation that he assaulted an emergency worker – a woman police sergeant – on January 20 last year.

No further details of the circumstances of the alleged assault were outlined.

After legal discussions, which involved prosecutor Gerard Rogerson, Judge Nicholas Barker, and the defendant, the judge set a timetable for managing the case and ruled that the trail itself should get udnerway on June 9.

The prosecution alleges that Murphy, of Winscale Way, Carlisle, committed the offence because spittle that he produced while he was blowing a raspberry had landed on the police sergeant's face.

The defendant confirmed that he intends to represent himself at the trial. He insists that he is not guilty of any offence.

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