Fitness model, 31, who broke the nose of a drunken City insurance broker who mocked him for having ‘small man syndrome’ is cleared of assault after claiming he acted in self defence
- Mark Reynolds, 31, said he acted in self defence after punching Jonathan Opie
- He claimed Opie had goaded him and he felt intimidated on February 10, 2017
- Old Bailey jurors heard Reynolds was told her had ‘small man syndrome’ by Opie
- The defendant was acquitted by the jury who reached an unanimous verdict
Mark Reynolds broke the nose of a City insurance broker following a dispute in February 2017. A jury at the Old Bailey acquitted him of assault after he claimed self-defence
A fitness model who broke the nose of a drunken City insurance broker who mocked him for having ‘small man syndrome’ has been cleared of assault.
Mark Reynolds, 31, claimed he acted in self defence when he punched Jonathan Opie in Cornhill, City of London after he was allegedly insulted in February last year.
The defendant was quickly acquitted by the jury who reached an unanimous verdict.
The personal trainer, from Brentford, who had just left a client’s event to network and had only drunk one vodka and pineapple juice, bumped into Jonathan Opie and had a heated exchange with him on the pavement, Old Bailey jurors were told.
BMS group broker Opie had been drinking while celebrating a birthday at Swingers Crazy Golf Bar in the City and was walking to Bank station with his wife Alice Hicks, his brother Mark Opie, and Mark’s girlfriend Victoria Livingstone.
Reynolds claimed Jonathan Opie blocked his path at about 11.55pm before telling him ‘go home, you have small man syndrome’, and when Reynolds tried to leave, the drunken broker stopped him and said ‘what if I don’t let you leave?’ the court heard.
The fitness model, who boasted he was the youngest Englishman to earn a black belt in karate at 12-years-old, told the Old Bailey that Opie then ‘launched’ at him and so he had to strike the broker’s jaw in self-defence.
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Giving evidence, Reynolds said he saw the group coming up behind him on the pavement and gestured for them to pass.
He said: ‘The group were just being jovial and clearly quite drunk. I remember one of the women saying “thank you”.’
‘But Jonathan brushed past me saying “what kind of guy gives way and then stands in your way?”
‘I just shrugged it off, and let them pass while I tried to make a phone call.
‘I did not feel any animosity towards them, but I was walking faster than they were and caught up with them again quite quickly.
‘Then I tried to slip past them, and Jonathan, who seemed to be looking over his shoulder, then bumped into me.
‘It was pretty insignificant and I thought he was a bit drunk, so I did not react to it.
The personal trainer, from Brentford, who had just left a client’s event to network and had only drunk one vodka and pineapple juice, bumped into Jonathan Opie and had a heated exchange with him on the pavement, Old Bailey jurors were told
‘But he then said “oh look it’s Mr Small Man Syndrome again.”
‘I just thought it was a bit odd really because I had barely spoken to the guy. I felt intimidated, it just seemed like a drunk guy acting up.
‘So I replied, saying “what are you on about? I’m just trying to go home.”
‘He then made contact with my shoulder as I was going to leave and stopped me leaving.
‘Jonathan said “what if I don’t let you leave” and he made towards my face.
‘I felt like he was going to attack me. At that point I was completely surrounded so I instinctively hit him in the jaw.
‘The way he insulted me, goaded me and launched for me – I felt in danger and did not want to be attacked.
‘I never made an informed decision to harm Mr Opie, it was entirely in self-defence.’
The court heard how Jonathan’s wife Alice, who admitted having at least six margaritas that night, then pushed Reynolds against the wall and was trying to get at his face with her hands.
Prosecutor Richard Reynolds, of no relation to the defendant, claims the defendant assaulted Opie.
The prosecutor said: ‘Some sort of joke was made about him not giving way, and shortly the defendant brushed past them again.
‘Mr Opie said something along the lines of this man having ‘small man syndrome’.
‘The defendant then swung a punch at Mr Opie’s face, and broke his nose.
‘Bouncers at a local club stepped in and then the police arrived.’
Jonathan Opie’s brother Mark – and his girlfriend Victoria Livingstone – both gave evidence, saying it was difficult to know what was said as recollections of events were ‘hazy’.
Mark Opie told the jury that his brother said something like “go home, you have small man syn-drome.”
‘My brother was walking backwards so he would not have seen the defendant straight away,’ Mark said.
‘The defendant was just trying to get past and there was some joke said about him not doing a good job at it.
‘On the second occasion he pushed past my brother again, but I think my brother also started winding him up.
‘I was surprised to hear my brother say ‘do you have small man syndrome?’
Mark Reynolds, of Boston Park Road, Brentford, denies assault occasioning actual bodily harm, claiming the whole incident was self-defence.
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