Man who barged into friend’s home before breaking his jaw locked up Punch ‘caused significant injury’ to victim
ATHUG broke his friend’s jaw in two places in front of the victim’s young son after barging into his living room and punching him.
Lewis Ainge, 29, of Davenport Row, Halton Lodge, Runcorn, entered Steven Carr’s bungalow on a neighbouring street at around 10.15pm on Sunday, December 20.
Ainge entered the house through a shut but unlocked front door then burst into the living room where Mr Carr was watching television with his son and adult step-daughter.
Ember-Jade Wong, prosecuting at Chester Crown Court, said when Mr Carr asked what Ainge was doing, Ainge “became aggressive and punched the complainant to the face, to the right jaw below the ear”.
Mr Carr felt his “teeth hit the bottom of his jaw” and then felt
“loose” as he dropped to the floor and Ainge “stood over him”.
As Mr Carr retreated to the kitchen saying he would call the police, Ainge followed, saying: “Are you lad? Are you?”
Ainge left the scene and after his arrest by Cheshire police, he provided a prepared statement in which he claimed Mr Carr had “run at him with an axe”.
The court heard the pair had fallen out and at 9.50pm that evening a rock had crashed through Mr Carr’s bedroom window, prompting Mr Carr to send a text to Ainge telling him not to “darken his doorstep again”.
Following his injury, a consultant at Halton Hospital diagnosed Mr Carr’s jaw as broken “on both sides”, and although he did not need surgery, he was placed on a soft diet and in splints.
Mr Carr rated the pain as eight out of 10, adding the blow left him suffering migraines and with loss of feeling in his jaw.
Ms Wong said a victim impact statement also revealed he had installed CCTV for protection following the assault, and had to cancel a trip abroad which cost him his flight money.
The effect on his work had been “limited”.
Ainge initially pleaded not guilty, but went on to admit the prosecution case as he pleaded guilty to Section 20 assault causing grievous bodily harm (GBH) without intent.
At Chester Crown Court today, a second count of burglary, namely stealing an axe from Mr Carr according to the charge description in magistrates’ court documents, was ordered to lie on file.
Ainge had six previous convictions for eight offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) in 2017, for which he received a suspended sentence.
Paul Wood, defending, said a probation officer had deemed Ainge to be “low risk”, but this didn’t convince Judge Patrick Thompson, who remarked: “He’s gone into someone’s home and broken their jaw.
“[Probation] have their opinion, mine’s different.
“I don’t know what people have to do to be assessed as high risk.”
Mr Wood continued his mitigation, adding the ABH incident was five years ago, Ainge had pleaded guilty, he had child dependants, and had been “satisfactory” in complying with previous orders.
He said the “single blow” was not intended to cause the level of injury inflicted.
Judge Thompson sentenced Ainge to 12 months in prison, to be served immediately.
He made a restraining order prohibiting Ainge from going within 100 metres of Mr Carr’s home address in the nearby Cotton Lane area of Halton Lodge, and ordered the defendant – who appeared in the dock wearing a non-league football tracksuit top – to pay a victim surcharge and compensation. Referring to Ainge’s ABH conviction from 2017, Judge Thompson said: “No doubt on that occasion you were warned about your future conduct, and told you have a criminal record and future offending would be very serious for you.
“It seems that didn’t deter you and it seems that’s how you resolve disputes.
“You caused a very significant injury.
“It doesn’t reflect greater harm, there wasn’t an operation, but there was a considerable period of recuperation and it was very unpleasant in various ways.”