A son attacked his mother's 74-year-old neighbour after banging on the door and pushing him on a sofa where he repeatedly punched him. It left the victim with snapped tendons to his arm and severe bruising.
Michael Wallace, 50, assaulted Graham Newling at his Newport home after he complained about his attacker's mother spraying water on him in his garden. He barged into his home uninvited and told Mr Newling: "I'll f****** come for you".
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard Wallace's mother had complained the victim had "exchanged words" with her but had made no threats of violence. But at 10am on June 14 the defendant turned up and left his car in the road before banging on the door.
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Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins said: "As soon as the door opened the defendant grabbed Mr Newling by the neck and pushed him backwards into his own home, pushed him into the living room door causing damage, and left bruising. He was pushed on to the sofa in the living room and punched repeatedly. He tried to dodge his blows but he felt pain to his left arm."
Neighbours who heard Wallace arriving came to assist Mr Newling and separated them before kicking the defendant out of the house. The police were called and Mr Newling was taken to hospital. He had suffered injuries to his arm including snapped tendons. One tendon had to be removed and he was told it was unlikely he would have a normal shoulder again.
In a victim personal statement Mr Newling said: "The incident has affected me terribly and I can't do anything I used to do. I can't do anything day to day. I loved playing golf but I suspended my membership and I don't believe I will play it for a number of months. I used to go the gym but had to stop. I felt really depressed and had to kick myself and have a positive mindset...
"I am concerned about what might happen in the future and I am frightened of [Wallace]... I thought my life would be taken from me and some weeks I wish it had."
Wallace was arrested and claimed he had been acting in self-defence after Mr Newling had grabbed him by the throat but after he was shown photos of the victim's injuries he was shocked and remorseful. The defendant, of Oak Street, Abertillery, later pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm.
In mitigation the court heard Wallace had "never intended" to cause the injuries to Mr Newling. Defence barrister Peter Donnison said his client hadn't used a weapon and the assault was short-lived. It was said the offence was "out of character" and Wallace had been dealing with the stress of his mother's ill health, unemployment, and the death of his brother who contracted Covid-19.
Sentencing, Judge David Wynn Morgan said: "There's no context for your behaviour because there can be no excuse for your behaviour. On June 14 last year you barged into your mother's neighbour's house on some form of pretext and attacked him – a man of 74 years of age, 24 years older, who couldn't defend himself against you. You did that because you lost control because of the difficulties you are currently undergoing. What you did was plainly unforgivable."
Wallace was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment suspended for 24 months. He was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work, to pay £5,000 compensation, and made subject to a restraining order for 10 years.
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