Drunk man chased lorry driver victim like a dog
A drunken attacker chased after an off-duty lorry driver “like a dog” before knocking him to the ground and fracturing his jaw, a court heard.
The victim, who had earlier travelled from Germany to make a delivery in Hinckley, had been enjoying a night off when trouble flared in a bar in the town.
The complainant was advised to leave by a doorman who had overhead someone was planning to assault him.
He was then chased and set upon, in the town centre, by Leyton Pitt, who was accompanied by two men.
Lucky Thandi, prosecuting, told Leicester Crown Court the three men pur- sued the fleeing man down the street. Pitt took him to the ground and repeatedly punched him, before one of his friends pulled him away. The injured man had an operation to repair his frac- tured jaw with the insertion of a titanium plate, at Leicester Royal Infirmary.
The 26-year-old defendant, of Francis Close, Hinckley, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm upon the man on Novem- ber 18 last year. He was given a 20-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, and will have to do 200 hours of unpaid work.
Pitt was also placed on a three-month 9pm to 6am curfew.
Judge Martin Hurst said: “I can see you are genuinely remorseful and it’s clear you were remorseful at the police station. What saves you from immediate custody is you didn’t put the boot in – if you’d kicked him you’d be going into custody immediately.
“You caused a serious injury by punching him and it was a sustained assault, having got him to the ground.”
The judge said having been ejected from the pub, the lorry driver was seen on CCTV in the street taking off his jacket as if he was preparing for a fight.
He added: “You decided to go out mob-handed, three against one and at that point he realised he’d bitten off more than he could chew – I’m not suggesting any of it was his fault.
“When he saw you with two friends he ran off down the street and you chased him down, like a dog. You’d been drinking, you took the leading role and he now has a permanent scar.”
Gary Short, mitigating, said there had been an “altercation” in the pub before the assault and it was clear the complainant was prepared for a oneon-one fight outside, but not to tackle three people. He said Pitt acted out of character and confessed to the police.
Mr Short added: “He asked if he could apologise to the victim for his behaviour.”
At the time, Pitt was suffering from anxiety and depression following the break-up of a relationship, but was now settled with a new partner.
“It was a serious blip in his adult life,” said Mr Short.