TWO men and a youth have been cleared of intending to cause party goer Craig Kaye grievous bodily harm in a street attack that left him brain-damaged.
Warren Smith, 46, of Hillam Street, Great Horton, Bradford; Andrew Sibson, 39, of Northdale Mount, Wibsey, and a teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, were found not guilty by a jury at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.
The two men were also acquitted of unlawfully wounding Mr Kaye, a charge the 17-year-old youth had admitted.
Sibson was convicted of perverting the course of justice by lying to mislead the police after the assault. Smith had already admitted that offence.
It took the jury of eight women and four men under three hours to reach their unanimous verdicts after the week-long trial.
The cases against all three defendants were adjourned until June 29 for the preparation of pre-sentence reports.
All had their bail renewed by the trial judge, Mr Justice Warby.
He told them: "I have to warn each of you that a custodial sentence is a very real prospect."
Mr Kaye, 40, is still is hospital after suffering brain damage when the youth, who was 16 at the time, punched him in the face at around midnight on August 31 last year.
Mr Kaye, of Great Horton Road, Bradford, had been drinking strong cider and had taken 12 Valium tablets before he was attacked in Hollybank Road.
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