Jail for thug who stabbed shopkeeper with bottle
Would-be thief setenced to 10 years for ‘vicious assault’
A 32-year-old man from Ruislip has been jailed for 10 years after he brutally attacked an Uxbridge shopkeeper by smashing a bottle over his head and stabbing him with it.
On June 6, John Donovan walked into the shop in Moorfield Road at around 8.17pm and tried to steal two bottles.
The shopkeeper confronted Donovan, who then set about viciously attacking the 56-year-old with one of the bottles.
Donovan was convicted and sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday December 2 to 10 years in prison for the shocking attack.
After a public appeal was launched, Donovan was arrested two days after the attack and was charged with causing grievous bodily harm.
The victim suffered a gash just above his eyebrow that only narrowly missed his eye, which medical staff said he was lucky not to lose.
He was hospitalised for a week after the awful attack.
Donovan had smashed one of the bottles over his head, and then continued to stab him with the broken end of the bottle.
The victim was rushed to a west London hospital for treatment.
Detective Sergeant Peter Boyd from Hillingdon CID, who led the investigation, said: “This was a particularly vicious assault which has left the victim with significant and lasting injuries.
“I am pleased the culprit has been brought to book.”
Donovan had pleaded not guilty to the offence but was found guilty after a trial.