Singer is convicted after 'slapping' a police officer while drunk

Singer who topped Singles Chart with The Real Thing in 1994 is convicted after ‘slapping’ a woman police officer while drunk

• Antonio Di Bartolomeo, 58, performed under the stage name Tony Di Bart
• He was found guilty of assault by beating an emergency worker at court today 

A singer who topped the UK Singles Chart in the 90s has been convicted of assault after ‘slapping’ a woman police officer while drunk.

Antonio Di Bartolomeo, 58, who performed under the stage name Tony Di Bart, hit Jessica Howells on February 28 this year after police were called to his home in response to ‘concerns about goings-on in the property’.

Officers tried to handcuff the former singer, whose song The Real Thing topped the UK Singles Chart for a week in May 1994, after noticing he was drunk and became ‘very aggressive’.

Di Bartolomeo, of St Marks Crescent, Maidenhead, had captor spray applied to his face during the arrest and told the court he was trying to ‘protect his face’ when he hit the officer. 

He was found guilty of assault by beating an emergency worker at Reading Magistrates’ Court today and is expected to be sentenced at the same court on August 1.

Antonio Di Bartolomeo (pictured), 58, who topped the UK Singles Chart in the 90s has been convicted of assault after ‘slapping’ a woman police officer while drunk

Antonio Di Bartolomeo, 58, , whose song The Real Thing topped the UK Singles Chart for a week in May 1994 (pictured performing the song at Top of the Pops that year), hit Jessica Howells on February 28 this year after police were called to his home 

Adam Khan, prosecuting, told the court: ‘On February 28 these officers attended the defendant’s home address after concerns about goings-on in the property.

‘They were able to get access to that address via the defendant’s ex-partner providing them the key.

‘Upon entry to the property it was apparent that the defendant was in a state of drunkenness – he immediately was very aggressive and took exception to the officers being in his house.

‘Officers then tried to effect an arrest upon the defendant to which he began to struggle and wasn’t compliant.

‘What is alleged to have happened by officer Jessica Howells is that she had her face grabbed and her face slapped more than once.’

Giving evidence, Pc Howells said officers knocked on the door multiple times and had conversations with the defendant from outside before going in the property.

‘He appeared to be intoxicated, he wasn’t initially aggressive but he was walking towards us with his hand behind his back,’ she added.

‘I took hold of his arm which was in front of him, my colleague, I believe, took his other arm, he was arrested in relation to the offences.

Di Bartolomeo, of St Marks Crescent, Maidenhead, was found guilty of assault by beating an emergency worker at Reading Magistrates’ Court today and is expected to be sentenced at the same court on August 1

‘We tried to get the defendant’s arms behind his back – however, due to his size we were unable to do that.

‘We were in a really tight area of the house, a little corridor, so I drew my captor spray.

‘I felt a hand go around my face and pull my face. I felt like a smack and then a grab, I was trying to get his arm behind his back so I could get the handcuffs on him.’

Body-worn footage was shown to the court of the incident and Howells can be heard saying ‘ow’ which she said is when the defendant ‘smacked’ her in the face.

The defendant could be heard in the footage saying: ‘What have you done? You’re in my house’, and: ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’

James Partridge, defending, suggested the defendant was sprayed and he ‘immediately put his hands to his face’, to which Howells replied: ‘No.’

He added that if there was any contact it was from when the defendant put his hands to his face. Again, Howells said: ‘No.’

During his police interview, the defendant ‘acknowledged his hand made contact with the officer’s face saying: ‘I touched something, yes, but there was no malice,’ the prosecution told the court.

Di Bartolomeo performed under the stage name Tony Di Bart

Giving evidence, Di Bartolomeo said two of his siblings and his father died after a cancer diagnosis and in February he had just had a biopsy for lung cancer and was ‘in pieces’.

He said the officers ‘smashed his front door in’ and that after the captor spray was applied he felt ‘instant burning’ and he tried to ‘protect his face’.

Asked by his defence if he grabbed an officer by the face, he replied: ‘Absolutely no.’

Di Bartolomeo added: ‘I’ve never raised a hand against a woman in my life. There were hands all around me, holding me and everything else, once they did that (captor spray) my eyes stayed closed.

‘There was no putting my hand out and grabbing her face, that didn’t happen.’

Chair of the bench, Jerry Cecile-Pritchard, said: ‘We’ve reached the conclusion that we do not find intent, we do consider your actions were foreseeable and therefore viewed as reckless, therefore we find you guilty as charged.’

Di Bartolomeo previously admitted offences of using threatening/abusive words/behaviour with intent to cause harassment, alarm or distress and racially/religiously aggravated intentional harassment/alarm/distress and criminal damage.

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