Three prisoners beat up inmate in laundry row
THREE prisoners burst into a fellow inmate’s cell as he was eating and rained down punches and kicks that caused his teeth to fall out.
Rhys Rubbery, Clinton Cummings and Curtis Lewis launched the cowardly three-on-one attack on Christopher Bunn on his bed following a dispute about laundry.
The attack left him with facial injuries.
Cardiff Crown Court heard they opened the cell door and Cummings told the victim: “You’re f***ed now.”
Byron Broadstock, prosecuting, said the attack happened at HM Parc Prison in Bridgend on June 7 last year.
He told the court they were all serving prisoners and Mr Bunn had “fallen out” with Cummings, who was working in the laundry.
Mr Broadstock said: “The victim was in his cell eating his food. He recalls Lewis looking through the door hatch. He thought at the time this was somewhat strange, but did not pay too much attention.”
The victim’s cell door opened and the three defendants went inside. Mr Bunn tried to run past them to get out, but he could not get away.
Mr Broadstock said: “He recalls being punched and kicked by all three. He landed on his bed and the assault escalated. He tried to lift his head and felt a heavy blow to his mouth and his teeth break.”
The victim heard one of the men say it was “time to go”, and thought the assault was over, but Cummings went back and hit him again.
Prosecutors said he was “dazed and disorientated”. He went to get painkillers and a prison officer saw his injuries.
A nurse was called to his cell and saw blood on the floor. Mr Bunn told him he had been “jumped”. The nurse saw his chin was injured, his teeth were loose and suspected he had a fractured cheek.
The victim’s chin was glued and he was X-rayed. He lost two teeth and another three came loose.
Prosecutors said it was a three-on-one attack and there was the prospect of the escalation of violence in the prison.
All three defendants admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Judge Paul Thomas QC said: “This was clearly an organised assault by the three of you on a fellow prisoner.
“That is a matter which the courts are bound to take a very serious view of indeed.”
He said Cummings was “cowardly” when he got two “henchmen”. He said his friends did the “dirty work”, then Cummings went back and punched the victim again.
The court heard Rubbery, 26, who is now at HM Albany Prison on the Isle of Wight, was serving a 12year extended sentence for rape and other offences of violence.
Andrew Davies, for Rubbery, said he asked his client why he got involved and he did not really know why.
He added: “He accepts he was foolish to involve himself in an argument that was not to do with him.”
Rubbery was given an eight-month sentence, which he must serve on top of his current sentence.
Cummings, 26, who is at HM Rye Hill Prison, had 13 offences against the person on his record.
Sara Palmer, for Cummings, accepted it was an “appalling” record. She said her client had been in and out of prison since he was 18.
The court heard he has an eight-year-old son and has spent the last six years away from him. She said Cummings had “little recollection” of what happened, but has had time to reflect. She pointed out he was the last one to go into the cell.
Ms Palmer told the court Cummings completed an education programme about alternatives to violence and now volunteers as leader on the violence elimination team at HM Rye Hill Prison.
Judge Thomas asked: “Do they know his background?” Ms Palmer said that information would have been provided when he was transferred.
The judge noted it was not the first time Cummings had assaulted someone in prison.
He was given a 12-month sentence to serve on top of his current sentence.
Lewis, 22, from Oliphant Circle in Newport, was jailed for 28 months in February 2017 for supplying Class A drugs. He had 26 previous offences on his record, including four against the person.
Ben Waters, for Lewis, said he has got a job with a biscuit company since being released from prison and is now in a new relationship.
Lewis was given a ninemonth prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. He was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 19 sessions of a thinking skills programme.