‘A wicked act’
16-YEAR SENTENCE FOR MAN WHO DROPPED BOWLING BALL OUT OF FLAT WINDOW ON TO COUNCIL WORKER’S HEAD, CAUSING LIFE-CHANGING BRAIN INJURY
A MAN has been jailed after he dropped a bowling ball on a council worker’s head, leaving him with brain damage. Damien Hammond, 31, was told the total term would be 16 years, with 12 years in prison and four years on licence after his release. He will considered for release two-thirds of the way through his sentence.
The victim and a colleague had been working outside the window of Hammond’s first-floor flat, clearing up a television and were “just doing their job,” said Judge James Sampson. “You didn’t like them being there. You had spent the last three days smoking Mamba.”
He said Hammond, who appeared on a link from HMP Leicester, had caused the victim lifechanging injuries and “it was a wicked act”.
Hammond had started shouting at the workmen over the television they were clearing up on the side of the pavement outside his flat in Strelley Road, Nottingham, on December 30, 2019, the court had heard.
He had previously told Nottingham Crown Court he believed the council staff were “coming to kill him” and that he was “trying to scare them off ”.
Hammond shouted from his upper window, claiming the television was his and he would come down, before throwing the bowling ball, wrapped in jeans, out of the window.
It struck one of the Nottingham City Council workers on the head, causing him to fall to the floor with blood streaming down his face.
He was taken to hospital with serious injuries including a fractured skull and brain trauma.
Police say a stand-off ensued, lasting several hours, as officers tried to negotiate with Hammond, who refused to come out of his flat and threw further items out of his window. Towards the end of the incident he climbed on to the window ledge, armed with a hammer, and threatened police officers with it.
Hammond, of no fixed address, was found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent by a jury last December, and pleaded guilty to affray, which was met with a 12-month concurrent prison sentence.
His victim, who watched the sentencing on a live link with his family, still works for the council and now carries a brain injury card.
He said in a statement: “I try to avoid the place I was assaulted. I try not to dwell on the incident. However, there are constant reminders of what happened to me”.
THE man behind a horrific attack on a council worker with a bowling bowl was “notorious” in Nottingham for dressing up as The Joker.
Damien Hammond, pictured, who has underlying mental health problems, is today behind bars for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
The 31-year-old was told the total term would be 16 years, with 12 years in custody, and he will be eligible for consideration for release on licence at the two-thirds point. His licence would be extended for four years on release.
Prosecutor Stuart Lody told Nottingham Crown Court that Hammond had “unleashed” a bowling ball wrapped in a piece of cloth, dropping it directly on his victim and causing him catastrophic, life-changing injuries.
Judge James Sampson said Hammond had previous convictions spanning 17 years and no fewer than 110 offences on his record, telling him “you are a prolific offender”.
“Your offences have mainly been of an acquisitive nature but also including threatening behaviour and a wounding.
“You are an anti-social, threatening and violent individual and your behaviour is escalating in terms of seriousness.”
After the case, Detective Constable Sarah Gregg, the officer in the case, said Hammond was notorious for dressing up as The Joker.
“He has had convictions before where he has been dressed as The Joker. The public are aware that he hangs around town dressed as The Joker, causing public order incidents normally and theft incidents.”
His attack on the council worker happened in Strelley Road, Nottingham, on December 30, 2019, when Hammond was in his flat and dropped the bowling ball out of his window.
DC Gregg said: “There were two council workers and they had stopped their van at the side of the road to pick up a broken TV which was underneath his window.
“At that point, Damien Hammond started leaning out of his top window – which is approximately 14 foot up from the pavement – and was basically trying to tell them to leave the TV.
“He became aggressive with them and told them he was going to come down. The council workers were just saying ‘this is our job to clean the streets up. We are going to clean this off the pavement.’
“Damien Hammond got a bowling ball, which was wrapped up in a leg of a pair of jeans and knotted, and he threw it out of his window at the council workers, knowing full well that they were underneath his window and intending to cause them really serious injury.”
He intentionally went and selected a very heavy item and literally dropped it on someone’s head, she added.
“There was no other consequence than a very serious head injury that in the end amounted to lasting brain trauma, and the victim and his family have been hugely affected by it.
“They have been an absolutely brilliant family to work with. They have supported the police investigation and just wanted some justice for the victim, as well as wanting life to go back to normal, but unfortunately for them, because of what has happened, it can’t.”
DC Gregg went to the scene that day where Hammond – who had been smoking mamba to excess and had not slept for three days – had created a stand-off after the incident. Strelley Road had to be closed for a couple of hours and specially trained officers negotiated with him. In the end he decided to lower himself out of his window and got arrested, said DC Gregg.