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Poker player imprisoned for biting off opponent’s ear

An amateur British poker player, Kalem Lodge has been sentenced to 5 long years imprisonment on the charge of biting off a part of an opponent’s ear during a brawl in the street, following a disagreement that took place at a local pub tourney in Hartlepool, England.

An outburst of rage can lead to shocking circumstances. One such incident took place on 6 September last year, which was only heard in court last week. Lodge entered the Mill House pub for a regular Texas Hold’em tournament where he got into a heated argument with his opponent John Archer during a break.

Let’s recollect the attack. Having gone outside for a cigarette, Lodge kicked a friend of Archer against whom he had competed. Archer came over to check on his friend springing up another argument between the two. With a blaze of anger, Lodge attacked Archer and hit the ground, biting the ear off the victim. Getting onto his feet, he yelled, “I’m Chucky, I’m Chucky!”

The victim said, “there’s my ear“, picked up the chunk of flesh from the ground, and went back to the pub where it was placed in the ice. He rushed to the hospital but the doctors failed to reattach his ear. Later, Archer wrote two letters saying he hopes to meet his attacker over a drink soon.

Defending Lodge, attorney Stephen Constantine stated that his client had personal problems since a young age. He also used the victim’s letters in the court to defend Lodger saying, “In the two letters there’s clear evidence that there have been meetings that they’ve put things behind them and moved on. The complainant clearly has a perception that the defendant is full of remorse and regret for his actions.”

It is probable that poker tables could lead to extreme disputes. However, the judge Alistair MacDonald didn’t quite agree to it, “I regret to say that will not be possible”. Owing to a long history of criminal charges the judge handed down a five-year prison sentence to the attacker.

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