Man’s ‘sickening’ assaults after drug deal ‘rip off’
ONE VICTIM LEFT UNABLE TO RECOGNISE HIMSELF IN MIRROR
A MAN launched a ‘frenzied’ attack on two people after he twice paid for drugs, but was left emptyhanded.
Luke Lawton, 28, subjected a man to a ‘sickening’ assault that left him unable to recognise himself in the mirror afterwards.
He only met the man a few hours earlier after knocking on his door in the middle of the night and asking if he was able to get him any cocaine.
Lawton claimed a dealer he’d given cash to minutes earlier had just run into the house without giving him the drugs he’d promised.
After speaking to a woman in the house next door, the man took Lawton to meet a nearby dealer, who also took his money and ran away.
Angry at once again being left empty-handed, Lawton drove away in his car, before returning to the man’s house in Radford later that morning.
Lawton then immediately dragged the man out of the house when he opened the door and punched him repeatedly until he fell to the floor.
During a prolonged assault, Lawton kicked, punched and stamped on the man multiple times, before also hitting him with a dustbin.
Not content with what he’d already done, he then forced his way into the house next door and threw the woman against a glass mirror – all the while asking: ‘where’s my money?’
The man was left with multiple fractures to his eye sockets and nose, while the woman required hospital treatment for a gash to her forehead, following the attack on July 30, 2021.
Lawton pleaded guilty to separate counts of causing grievous bodily harm with and without intent at Nottingham Crown Court in May 2022.
He returned to the court for sentencing on Thursday, where an impact statement from the male victim was read out that detailed how the attack had impacted his quality of life.
Ahead of passing sentencing, Judge Mark Watson said: “This was a sickening assault that saw you attack a man in a frenzied rage – all because you couldn’t get the drugs you wanted.
“You’d been ripped off twice that night, so believing he was responsible you dragged this man out of his house, punched him without warning and then set about kicking and stamping on him.
“Even as he lay on the ground in pain, you then bludgeoned him with a wheelie bin.
“He said he couldn’t recognise himself in the mirror after what you did, and having seen pictures of his injuries I can see exactly what he meant.
“You didn’t stop there though and, having failed to satisfy your need for revenge, you then visited your second victim and left her with injuries that also required hospital treatment.
“It’s clear that you wanted to get retribution for what you thought was a slight against you.”
Lawton, of Graham Way, Taunton, Somerset, was jailed for three years and nine months.
PC Andy Fawcett, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “As the judge alluded to in his closing remarks, Lawton’s actions that morning were absolutely appalling.
“Seemingly, for no reason other than his pride being dented by his failed attempts to buy drugs, Lawton launched an unprovoked and cowardly assault on two people out of the blue.
“The violence he showed against his male victim especially was completely over the top and left him with severe facial injuries during what must have been an extremely scary attack. Sadly, it appears that Lawton caused lasting damage to the man during that sustained assault, not just from a physical point of view but from an emotional standpoint, too.
“Nottinghamshire Police strongly condemns all forms of violence and will never tolerate this kind of behaviour on our streets.
“We’re pleased to see that Lawton has received a lengthy prison sentence for his actions, and we hope this punishment serves as a good example of how seriously we take offences of this nature.”