A persistent offender is in prison for the 22nd time after he broke a man's nose.
Callum Brown approached the man before pulling him to the floor and delivering punches to his head and body. The attack, which happened on the A688 in Spennymoor, left the victim with a broken nose. Afterwards, the victim was ran over by a van in an unrelated incident.
Brown appeared at Durham Crown Court via link from HMP Durham on Thursday to be sentenced for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He had pleaded guilty to the offence on the day his trial was due to start.
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The court heard that Brown was walking along the A688 at around 11pm when he carried out the attack on a man he knew on August 13, last year. Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said: "The defendant approached the complainant, who thought he might have wanted his crack-pipe, the approach had something to do with a previous dispute. The defendant pushed the complainant to the floor and pulled him down, delivering punches to his body and face, fracturing his nose. The complainant then ran away but was later struck by a van in an unrelated incident."
Mr Newcombe said Brown carried out a "persistent assault" and had previous convictions for battery, violent disorder, threatening behaviour, and had breached "numerous" community orders. Despite being only 29 years old, the court heard that Brown had been to prison 21 times and had served a total of 12 years.
John Batchelor, defending, said Brown "accepts he was responsible for punching the complainant" and had known the victim for some time. He said: "There were issues between them some days before. The assault was somewhat spontaneous...he accepts he struck the complainant a number of times and broke his nose.
"The unfortunate, later injury (caused) was nothing to do with this defendant. He is genuinely regretting that the complainant was later hurt in that way. He knows it will be a custodial sentence today, he's been to prison many many times before." Mr Batchelor added Brown is a father and that the attack was "impulsive and short lived".
Sentencing Brown, Recorder Thomas Moran told him he had a "bad record for violence" and jailed him for 14 months. A five year restraining order was also imposed.
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