Sick ‘Joker’ is facing jail for attack with bowling ball
A ‘ SINISTER’ serial criminal obsessed with The Joker who dropped a bowling ball on the head of a workman from a window is behind bars.
Damien Hammond, 31 – who liked dressing up as the evil Batman villain to terrorise people – struck as council staff cleared a TV from the pavement below his flat.
He yelled that the TV was his then lowered the ball – wrapped in a pair of jeans – and let it go.
The worker was left covered in blood, with a fractured skull and serious brain injuries that still affect him.
When police arrived, Hammond hurled more possessions at them, crawled out on to a ledge and threatened them with a hammer before he was arrested.
Hammond is notorious in Nottingham for a series of crime sprees in shops and stores while dressed as the twisted comic book and movie character, the court heard.
In 2017, he was given a suspended sentence for theft, disorderly conduct, obstructing police, possession of an offensive weapon, drug offences and indecent exposure. In his police mugshot, he wore the distinctive purple jacket, green shirt and make-up made famous by Hollywood star Heath Ledger in 2008 movie The Dark Knight.
A year later, he was jailed for 22 weeks for criminal damage, obstructing police, and possessing cannabis. A report at the time said Hammond’s Joker look was calculated to have a ‘sinister, aggravating effect’ on staff and shoppers.
As he was led away from the dock to the cells, Hammond – who appeared in court with bright green hair – screamed: ‘Send me to prison, I don’t care,’ and
yelled at magistrates: ‘See what you have done, I will kill today!’
Hammond last week admitted affray and was found guilty at Nottingham crown court of causing grievous bodily harm. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in January.
Insp Anwaar Ahmed, of Nottingham
shire Police said: ‘Hammond has been a persistent offender.
‘Despite being offered support from partner agencies and previously being given a second chance by the court, his offending continued.’
The court heard he has been banned from entering Nottingham city centre.