Thug split man's head open in estate shop attack

A thug who split a man’s head open with a single punch in a convenience store has avoided immediate custody.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Joseph Micheal Burns attacked the man in the Nisa store after the pair exchanged words in the street minutes earlier, Leeds Crown Court was told.

Prosecutor Samuel Ponniah said 35-year-old Burns, who has previous convictions for violence, had been with two friends when the victim walked past on June 16 last year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The victim, who was drunk, asked if the group ‘had a problem’ because he caught them looking at him. One of the group asked him the same question.

The Nisa on Eastmoor.The Nisa on Eastmoor.
The Nisa on Eastmoor.

They then followed him into the shop on Windhill Road, on the Eastmoor estate, Wakefield.

As the man walked towards the till he dropped his basket and bent down to pick up his items, Burns punched him to the side of the head. He then quickly tried to see if the man was okay but was ordered to leave the premises.

The victim was taken to hospital with a laceration to his head that was down to the skull. He required 30 stitches.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Burns, of Garsdale Grove, Wakefield, later posted on Facebook about the attack and said it was self defence.

He admitted Section 20 unlawful wounding before he was due to stand trial.

The court was told he had 21 convictions for 33 offences, including unlawful wounding and actual bodily harm a year later.

Mitigating, Satpal Roth-Sharma said: “It goes beyond self defence, it was far more excessive, and the defendant accepts that.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The defendant was in drink at the time but he does not shy away from the fact the man needed stitches.”

She said Burns suffered a difficult upbringing, and said he is also seeking to address anger management difficulties.

The judge, Recorder Catherine Silverton, gave him 12 months’ jail, suspended for 18 months and 80 hours of unpaid work.

He was also ordered to take a building better relationships course to help address his anger issues.