Three people have been sentenced for a serious assault in Swindon last year which left a man needing surgery on his broken jaw.
Stuart Hibbard, Richard Smith and Michelle Jackson all appeared at Swindon Crown Court last Thursday (21 June 2018) to be sentenced after pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm, following an incident outside the Tree nightclub, in Hoopers Place, last July.
– Hibbard, 42, of Westrop, Highworth, Swindon, was jailed for five years and nine months.(left)
– Smith, 32, of Ruskin Avenue, Swindon, was jailed for four years and nine months.(right)
– Jackson, 40, of Westrop, Highworth, Swindon, was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, and given a community order and a curfew.
The attack happened in the early hours of Saturday 29 July 2017 after the three defendants and the victim, a 33-year-old man, had left the nightclub and got into an argument.
A fight occurred and the victim was punched, kicked and stamped on, leaving him with a serious head injury and a broken jaw.
He was treated at Great Western Hospital and John Radcliffe Hospital, in Oxford, where he had surgery to have two titanium plates inserted into his jaw.
Det Con Mark Harris, from Swindon CID, welcomed the sentence and said he hoped it sent a message that violence would not be tolerated.
He said: “This was drink-fuelled mindless violence and a vicious attack which left the victim needing surgery and a lengthy hospital stay while he recovered.
“I hope this sentence shows that the police and the courts will take action and punish those who engage in this type of irresponsible and dangerous behaviour.”
