Man jailed over attack on lone Keighley shopkeeper

Mohammed Ali was caught on camera putting the other man in a headlock, pulling him to the floor, and punching him multiple times in the head.

In the course of the attack the man felt his leg twist, crack, and break.

Prosecutor Joel Wootten told Bradford Crown Court that the incident, at 4pm on August 17 last year at a shop in Keighley began when Ali left insufficient money on the counter for a £1.99 bottle of Vaseline.

The shopkeeper followed him from the shop and asked for the correct amount but went back inside when Ali “gave him attitude”.

The man told Ali to forget about it but was followed into the shop and threw a punch at Ali when he would not go away.

Mr Wootten said: “It’s at this point that the defendant punched [the victim], put him into a headlock, and dragged him to the floor.

“[The victim] at this point felt his left leg twist and felt something crack. He described being in a lot of pain.

“The defendant then proceeded to punch [the victim] in the head over 20 times. [The victim] was trying to defend himself but could not do much as he was in so much pain.”

Ali dragged the man across the floor and was only stopped when members of the public intervened. The police were then called.

The entirety of the assault was caught on CCTV.

Ali later called 101 and made a counter allegation to police, telling them that the shopkeeper was the aggressor and that he had acted in self-defence.

The victim was taken to Airedale General Hospital where he had surgery for fractures to his leg.

Airedale General (Image: Newsquest)

In an interview with police Ali denied the offence and did not mention punching the victim several times. He said he remained on top of him as he feared he may have had a Stanley knife.

When shown the CCTV footage he accepted he may have “gone too far” but feared his life was in danger.

He later pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent.

The court heard that Ali, now 26, had previous convictions for common assault and affray from when he was a teenager.

Mitigating, Gerald Hendron said there was a dispute over how the incident started but that Ali accepted he had acted unlawfully.

He said: “Clearly grievous bodily harm has taken place. Interestingly it is as a result of a twist and fall as opposed to any punching or kicking that could be alleged.”

He said Ali, the youngest child of a law-abiding family of 11 and who worked as a tyre fitter, had “no desire” to have anything to do with the victim again. 

Mr Hendron said Ali feared the other man may have been behind an attack on him and that he was “most anxious” to move on.

Sentencing Ali, of Victoria Road, Keighley, to 13 months imprisonment, Mr Recorder Andrew Latimer said the assault lasted only a minute or two and “mercifully the damage done was not greater.”

He added: “I am clear in my own mind that [the victim] swung the first punch in this altercation. But you had a choice at that stage. You could go away, as he wanted rid of you, or you could retaliate.

“You punched him about 20 times. He was on the ground. He was helpless. And you would have known that.

“In dragging him to the ground his leg was twisted leaving him with a broken leg and shinbone.

“This was a persistent attack on a lone shop worker. You left him needing surgery the following day and there’s some evidence of the physical difficulties that’s left him with.”