Wakefield thug 'looking for violence' left Westgate man on life support with single blow
A thug left a man on life support from a single punch, saying he had been looking for a fight because he was “going to jail anyway”.
Jack Lamb struck the man who had been badgering women on Wakefield’s Westgate on a night out, Leeds Crown Court heard.
The man was left needing life-saving surgery on his brain.
It came just two weeks after Lamb had thrown a punch at another man, knocking him unconscious, along the same stretch of bars and clubs in the city.
Lamb, 20, was jailed today after admitting Section 20 GBH, ABH and common assault.
Prosecutor Eddison Flint said two brothers had been drinking in Westgate bars on July 28 last year.
Lamb had attacked the victim without provocation, having earlier asked him for a cigarette.
The man was knocked unconscious immediately and his brother stepped in to protect him, with Lamb then raining blows down on him.
The unconscious man was taken to hospital with a 6cm laceration to his head, but suffered no lasting damage.
However, two weeks later Lamb struck again.
Two women leaving the Nocturno nightclub at around 5am on August 16 were approached by a man who said he wanted to get in a taxi with him.
They tried to walked away but he followed them.
Outside Rafikees takeaway they asked for help from another group to deter the man, but he continued and said he would do as he wanted.
Lamb then approached him and struck him once, knocking him unconscious and lifeless on the pavement.
A witness later told police that Lamb had been seen snorting cocaine from a bin nearby and was over heard to say that he wanted violence because he was facing jail from the previous attack.
The victim suffered a hematoma, a fractured skull and bleeding to his brain. He needed emergency surgery and put on life support, but later made progress.
Lamb, of Hillside Close, Wakefield, was arrested but gave a no-comment interview.
He has two previous convictions for battery and possession of a prohibited weapon. He appeared in court this week over a video link from HMP Doncaster, where he was being held on remand.
Mitigating, Chris Moran said Lamb had “already thrown a significant amount of his life away” by his offending, and had aspirations of joining the Army.
He conceded the second victim was “lucky to be alive” but said both incidents had been short-lived.
Judge Robin Mairs jailed Lamb for 30 months overall and told him: “These courts are wearily familiar with what are called ‘one-punch manslaughters’.
“This was needless violence inflicted in public in front of members of the public when you were full of alcohol and no doubt cocaine.”
Referring to the second incident he said: “You were looking for any excuse to fight that evening and inflict violence on others. The complainant provided an easy target for that.
“His life hung in the balance for a little while.”