jrobertson
20-11-08, 10:05 AM
www.thisissouthwales.co.uk (http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk) - this is swansea.co.uk - 19-Nov-08
Neighbour spared jail for attack on amputee and wife (http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Neighbour-spared-jail-attack-amputee-wife/article-486283-detail/article.html)
A DISABLED Swansea man landed painfully on the amputated stump of one of his legs after his crutches were kicked by a former neighbour.
The assault on Mark Fender happened shortly after his wife Carol Fender was punched by the same attacker, a court heard.
The violence in the city's Penlan area last May was described when Jason Russ, aged 34, of Glenside Road, Portmead, Swansea, was given a four-month prison sentence that was suspended for a year. Russ was also ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid community work.
The suspended sentence was passed at an appeal hearing at Swansea Crown Court when Judge Patrick Curran QC, sitting with two magistrates, quashed an immediate sentence of 15 weeks' imprisonment that had been imposed on Russ at Swansea Magistrates Court earlier this month.
Robin Rouch, prosecuting, said that following a trial on November 4, Russ was found guilty of two offences of common assault.
The complainants, Mark and Carol Fender, had been neighbours of Russ about eight years ago, said Mr Rouch. At that time there had been a falling out between them.
On May 24 this year Mrs Fender was at Tesco in Fforestfach when she saw Russ's wife and there was an argument between the two women.
The following day, said Mr Rouch, Mrs Fender was at home in John Penry Crescent when she heard a car pulling up.
Outside, she saw Russ and asked him what he wanted. He then told her: "I'm after you."
The court heard that when Mrs Fender asked Russ to leave, he told her: "Not till I've hit you."
Mr Rouch said Russ then punched Mrs Fender to her face and upper body, knocking her over.
Mark Fender, the court heard, was a disabled man who used crutches after having part of one of his legs amputated last year.
After Mr Fender came out of the house, he smelled alcohol on Russ's breath and seized his car keys.
At this point, Russ kicked Mr Fender's crutches , causing him to fall — and Mr Fender suffered immense pain when he landed on the amputated stump of his leg.
Police who breath-tested Russ found his level of alcohol was two-and-a-half times the driving limit.
At the appeal hearing, the Crown Court agreed to vary the jail sentence imposed on Russ after barrister Catherine Richards described the immediate term imposed by the magistrates as disproportionate.
Russ, she said, had a wife whose health was very poor — and he cared for her and their three children.
Miss Richards said her client had been "under enormous pressure" at the time of the Penlan incident.
"He was feeling isolated because of his family situation," she said.
"He sought help from alcohol and relied on it to his detriment."
Judge Curran said Russ's "domestic responsibilities" enabled the court to pass a suspended sentence.
But the two-year driving ban imposed at the lower court would remain unaltered.
Neighbour spared jail for attack on amputee and wife (http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/news/Neighbour-spared-jail-attack-amputee-wife/article-486283-detail/article.html)
A DISABLED Swansea man landed painfully on the amputated stump of one of his legs after his crutches were kicked by a former neighbour.
The assault on Mark Fender happened shortly after his wife Carol Fender was punched by the same attacker, a court heard.
The violence in the city's Penlan area last May was described when Jason Russ, aged 34, of Glenside Road, Portmead, Swansea, was given a four-month prison sentence that was suspended for a year. Russ was also ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid community work.
The suspended sentence was passed at an appeal hearing at Swansea Crown Court when Judge Patrick Curran QC, sitting with two magistrates, quashed an immediate sentence of 15 weeks' imprisonment that had been imposed on Russ at Swansea Magistrates Court earlier this month.
Robin Rouch, prosecuting, said that following a trial on November 4, Russ was found guilty of two offences of common assault.
The complainants, Mark and Carol Fender, had been neighbours of Russ about eight years ago, said Mr Rouch. At that time there had been a falling out between them.
On May 24 this year Mrs Fender was at Tesco in Fforestfach when she saw Russ's wife and there was an argument between the two women.
The following day, said Mr Rouch, Mrs Fender was at home in John Penry Crescent when she heard a car pulling up.
Outside, she saw Russ and asked him what he wanted. He then told her: "I'm after you."
The court heard that when Mrs Fender asked Russ to leave, he told her: "Not till I've hit you."
Mr Rouch said Russ then punched Mrs Fender to her face and upper body, knocking her over.
Mark Fender, the court heard, was a disabled man who used crutches after having part of one of his legs amputated last year.
After Mr Fender came out of the house, he smelled alcohol on Russ's breath and seized his car keys.
At this point, Russ kicked Mr Fender's crutches , causing him to fall — and Mr Fender suffered immense pain when he landed on the amputated stump of his leg.
Police who breath-tested Russ found his level of alcohol was two-and-a-half times the driving limit.
At the appeal hearing, the Crown Court agreed to vary the jail sentence imposed on Russ after barrister Catherine Richards described the immediate term imposed by the magistrates as disproportionate.
Russ, she said, had a wife whose health was very poor — and he cared for her and their three children.
Miss Richards said her client had been "under enormous pressure" at the time of the Penlan incident.
"He was feeling isolated because of his family situation," she said.
"He sought help from alcohol and relied on it to his detriment."
Judge Curran said Russ's "domestic responsibilities" enabled the court to pass a suspended sentence.
But the two-year driving ban imposed at the lower court would remain unaltered.