District Judge Steven Keown said: “This was a running battle in the middle of the day on the busy Lisburn Road involving four people.”
A Romanian national today pleaded guilty to his involvement in a running street battle in South Belfast last year involving four men.
Dumitru Genea, 32, of Queens Road in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, appeared at Belfast Crown Court for a brief arraignment hearing.
When the charge of making an affray on the Lisburn Road on May 7, 2025, was put to him by the court clerk, Genea replied through an interpreter: “Guilty.”
Defence barrister Conn O’Neill said a co-accused in the case, Ionut Lazar, 33, from the Lisburn Road, had previously pleaded guilty to affray and is due to be sentenced on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, by His Honour Judge Gordon Kerr KC.
Asking for a pre-sentence report to be compiled on Genea, Mr O’Neill requested that his client’s case be put into the same date “to see where we are in terms of his probation report”.
Judge Patrick Lynch KC told the defendant: “You have now pleaded guilty to the charge of affray and I have directed a pre-sentence report for a sentencing hearing on September 2 along with Mr Lazar.
“You will be interviewed by a probation officer who will prepare that report for the court. Please cooperate with the probation officer in the preparation of that report as it is in your own interest and keep in contact with your solicitor in case there is any change to that date,” added Judge Lynch.
No details were given in court today about the circumstances surrounding the affray charge.
But when the case first appeared in Belfast Magistrates’ Court in May 2025, a judge was told that four Romanian men were involved in a running battle with knives on the busy Lisburn Road.
One of the men sustained serious stab injuries during an initial encounter inside an apartment, said police at the time. CCTV footage then showed two men being pursued by Genea and Lazar towards a nearby bar on the Lisburn Road.
A defence solicitor for the two victims claimed they were chased by Genea and Lazar and took shelter in the foyer of the pub. He alleged his clients threw chairs and hoardings in a bid to keep Genea and Lazar out.
The solicitor alleged: “They are the victims in this case. They were attacked, ran away and then were attacked again.”
However, a defence solicitor for Genea and Lazar made counter allegations that they had been threatened and only acted in self-defence.
District Judge Steven Keown said: “This was a running battle in the middle of the day on the busy Lisburn Road involving four people.”
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login