Father and sons jailed for affray

A DAD had to be tasered while being arrested for wielding a bat in a Cardiff street brawl which involved his two sons.

Father-of-seven Mark Madley, 50, and his sons Ryan, 26, and Aaron, 22, were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday after pleading guilty to affray.

The court heard Mark Madley concealed the weapon in his coat when his two sons were “confronted” by three men outside their home in Cowbridge Road West, Ely, at around 7.30pm on February 19 last year. The incident was captured on CCTV. Describing the scene, prosecutor Byron Broadstock said: “A car pulls up by the side of the road and three persons alight from the car. The first did so from the nearside while the car is still in motion, leaving the door open.

“Those who alighted the vehicle, including the complainant Lewis Howell, are stood next to the two younger defendants and an unidentified male.

“A further male approaches the defendant, Mark Madley, and he is seen with something concealed in his jacket.

“Once he approaches the group the scene erupts into violence and it spills onto the road while cars are driving past.

“Mark Madley can be clearly seen with a bat or stick in his hand and the footage shows him handing it to his co-accused.”

Complainant Mr Howell described being struck to the face and head and was seen on the CCTV footage going to the floor more than once before running away from the scene.

As a result of the affray, Mr Howell suffered swelling and bruising to his eyes and nose, swelling and cuts to his ears, lumps on his head and grazes to his arms and knees.

Mr Broadstock said: “Later the same day, the police attended the home of Mark Madley and were met with aggression by him and his family. They were forced to use a taser on Mr Madley to carry out the arrest.”

Aaron Madley was arrested at the same time as his father while Ryan Madley handed himself into a police station the following day.

The court heard that a search of the Madley home found the metal bat in the kitchen.

Mark Madley, of Cowbridge Road West, was sentenced to 19 months in prison while his sons Ryan, of Cowbridge Road West, and Aaron, of no fixed address, were both sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment each.

Jeffrey Jones, defending Mark Madley, said his client came out of his house due to a “fear of violence” and he was concerned due to the ages and physique of the three men who had approached his sons.

Jonathan Lewis, defending Ryan Madley, said his client and his family members did not start the trouble and claimed the “catalyst” for the violence was the car pulling up next to the brothers.

Stephen Thomas, defending Aaron Madley, said his client accepts he took part in the affray and accepts using unlawful violence by punching Mr Howells but claimed he was not the instigator of the incident.

Sentencing, Judge Tracey LloydClarke said she considered Mark Madley to be “the leader” of the violence, having brought a weapon to the scene.