Two men have been jailed for a “disgusting” attack in which a man was repeatedly punched and then robbed of his mobile phone in a Bradford street.
John Walker, 20, had pleaded guilty to robbery at a hearing last month, at which Martin Williams, 19, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The pair, both of Pleasant Street, Great Horton, were sentenced at Bradford Crown Court yesterday, with Walker receiving a two-year jail term and Williams 18 months.
Prosecutor Nicoleta Alistari told the court that at around 12.30pm on January 23, Kyle Walker, Walker’s cousin, had been walking along Gaythorne Road in Bradford with his 16-year-old girlfriend.
The two men saw Mr Walker from a passing car, and stopped the vehicle before crossing the road to confront him.
The court heard that both men punched Mr Walker repeatedly in the face, about ten times each, causing him to suffer bleeding lips and lumps to his head.
Miss Alistari added that before the pair left the scene, Walker took his cousin’s mobile phone.
The incident was captured on CCTV from a nearby shop, with the footage played to the court during yesterday’s hearing.
Jayne Beckett, representing Walker, told the court that there was a “significant history” between the defendant and his cousin, who she said had spent time in care together in the past, with the pair said to have fallen out over threats made to Walker’s younger brother.
She stated that Walker had a long-standing history of mental health problems, including ADHD and anger management issues, and argued that the taking of the phone was “robbery by way of afterthought”, and not a pre-meditated act.
Abigail Langford, representing Williams, told the court that the assault was the result of a belief that Mr Walker had made threats of sexual offences, which he labelled “sick comments”, towards members of his family.
She argued that the attack was a “spur of the moment meeting,” and not a pre-medidated assault.
Sentencing the pair, Judge John Potter told both men they had “dreadful records of offending, with a significant history of previous convictions.”
“This was a sustained attack of disgraceful and mindless violence in the street,” he said. “Events can clearly be seen on CCTV, with fists clearly used and numerous punches thrown.
“Looking at the footage, it is difficult to differentiate your roles in the attack.”
He added that the pair would serve half their sentences in custody, and the other half on licence in the community.
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