A man opened his front door to be struck with a golf club by a man in a Halloween mask. Two other thugs then joined in, punching the man while his wife and daughters were screaming.
CCTV footage of the attack was played at Leicester Crown Court, where Kye Thomas appeared having pleaded guilty to several offences for the attack. The 22-year-old could be seen approaching the house in Newcombe Road, Braunstone, Leicester, knocking on the front door and then raising the golf club above his head while he waited for the man – who was not known to him – to open the door.
When the door opened he swung the golf club and hit the man on the side of the head. The victim then put out his arms and blocked further swings but the two other men joined in and he suffered several punches to the head.
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The attack happened at about 5pm on Wednesday, November 1, when the man’s family, including two children under 11, were all present in the house and many of them witnessed the attack. Thomas and the others were shoved out of the house by the man and his wife and despite the mask, they recognised him because he lived in the area.
Leicestershire Police went to Thomas’s house in nearby Bendbow Rise and found him with a bandana containing a hard ball. There was no sign of the golf club. He would later pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an offensive weapon and one of causing actual bodily harm.
The incident happened in Newcombe Road, Braustone
(Image: Google)
Louise Stephens, representing Thomas, said her client had pleaded guilty, had no previous convictions and had only been 21 at the time of the attack. She said Thomas had been sofa-surfing since he was 15 and had carried out the attack because he had been given false information that the man was planning to attack a friend of his.
Ms Stephens said: “This is a one-off, it’s out of character and was borne out of misguided allegiance for someone else.” She said Thomas was no longer associating with the same men and was in a new relationship that was keeping him out of trouble.
Recorder Sammuel Skinner, sentencing Thomas, said he should consider himself very lucky he hadn’t been charged with more serious offences than actual bodily harm for what he did at the victim’s family home.
He sentenced him to nine months, suspended for 18 months. Thomas was also ordered to pay his victim £250 compensation, do 180 hours of unpaid work and spend 20 days on Probation Service programmes.
A restraining order banning Thomas from contacting his victim in the next four years was also issued.