A businessman let himself and two armed thugs into a man’s home before attacking him. Reece Driscoll, 52, let the two other men into the block of flats where he also lived before entering the man’s flat and repeatedly punching him to the head.
Minutes later, the two other men, both wearing a balaclava, joined in the assault by hitting the man with baseball bats. He was left with a nasty wound to his head.
Driscoll later told police he went round to the man’s flat for information following an alleged assault on the brother of one of the armed thugs. Driscoll, who the court heard part owns a business which had been set to receive a £200m investment, has since pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon.
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Prosecuting, Andrew MacKintosh said that on January 12 last year, at around 8.30pm, the man and his partner were at home when they heard loud banging coming from the front door. The three men, including Driscoll who was not wearing a mask, ‘stormed’ into the flat before Driscoll shouted at the man: “Where is he - where does he live?”
The couple both recognised Driscoll as being the woman's neighbour, the court heard.
“The defendant then pushed over a coffee table and began to punch the complainant in the face,” Mr MacKintosh said. “He punched him at least three times, then the men with the baseball and rounders bat joined in and struck the complainant about his head with those weapons.”
The men fled five minutes later as the man’s partner had activated a panic alarm due to the amount of blood coming from his head.
The man was left with cuts and bruising, along with a large open wound to his forehead which was cleaned and sealed.
Driscoll was later arrested and said to police that he was friends with somebody who had been assaulted.
“He said he agreed to go to the complainant’s flat to find out what happened. He said he had a fob to let them into the flat and it was he who enabled them to go in,” the prosecutor added.
In a statement, the victim said he ‘genuinely believed he was going to be killed’ and that he feared for his life during the attack. The other two men involved have not been found, the court heard.
Driscoll was said to have non-recent previous convictions on his record.
Defending, David Bentley said he accepted it was an ‘extremely unpleasant’ incident and it was never his client’s intention for it to escalate the way it did.
“There was a background to it, but there was no excuse for his involvement,” Mr Bentley said.
“He deeply regrets becoming involved. Mr Driscoll didn’t have a disguise, the others clearly had an agenda. He never thought these weapons were going to be used in the way they were - he was foolish.”
The court heard that Driscoll part owns an energy company and ‘spearheaded’ a project which will provide a solar battery device to social housing across the country. The company is due to receive £200 million backing from a Swiss business who will assist with manufacturing the device.
“This will provide renewable energy to social housing and assist the most vulnerable in society,” Mr Bentley said. “Immediate custody would impede a significant part of his involvement in the company and the project he has spearheaded.”
But jailing him, Judge Mark Savill said: “The three of you were going about him with fists and weapons for five minutes as his partner watched on, in what should have been the safety of their own home. There was a nasty wound to his head.
“Whatever the background, whatever ultimate injuries were caused - anyone who enters somebody’s home in a disguise with a weapon can only expect to receive an immediate sentence of imprisonment.”
Driscoll, of Birwood Road, Crumpsall was jailed for 20 months.
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