A police officer was gouged in the eye when called to deal with troublesome twins who kicked off after being booted out of a hotel.
Leon and Lewis Bayat, both 19, had been ejected from one Travelodge due to their behaviour and cheekily tried to check into another one nearby. When told they were not welcome, they became aggressive, resulting in staff phoning the police.
As an officer tried to arrest Leon, he poked him in the eye, causing him to fear it would be gouged out. It took the intervention of two members of the public to bring the situation under control. Now the pair, who had also ripped off three men in a mobile phone scam, have been sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court.
It was in April last year the twins had been staying for some time at a Travelodge hotel next to the A1 in Gateshead. They were due to check out on April 15 but did not do so, so the manager went to the room to see what was going on.
Leon Bayat, who admitted assault and fraud offences
(Image: Northumbria Police)
They were out at the time but he saw they had placed a sock over a smoke alarm. There was also a camping stove and cooking equipment and signs people had been smoking.
When they returned, the manager told them he would have to charge them for tampering with the smoke alarm and to clean the room. The court heard they “took umbrage” and became “belligerent” and the manager told them they were not welcome to stay at Travelodge hotels any more.
They left the hotel on the northbound side of the A1 but then immediately went to the Travelodge on the opposite side of the dual carriageway. Liam O’Brien, prosecuting, said: when told they were not welcome they took exception and behaved in an arrogant and aggressive manner.
Police were called and a male and female officer attended and told the Bayats they needed to leave. Mr O’Brien said: “The defendants took the view this was completely unfair and unreasonable and were swearing at the police and became increasingly verbally aggressive towards them.
“Matters began to spiral out of control when they refused to give their names. The male officer decided to arrest them and when he put his hand on Leon he became physically aggressive and refused to allow him to put handcuffs on him and began wrestling and fighting.
Lewis Bayat, who admitted assault and fraud offences
(Image: Northumbria Police)
“Lewis also behaved aggressively to the female officer but he was not as aggressive and violent as his brother. At the height of matters, Leon forcefully and deliberately, it seems, pressed his finger into the male officer’s eye, causing pain and fear about what was going to happen.
“This was a chaotic situation which spiralled out of control and the officers were unable to control them. It was only after two members of the public who had stopped for a cigarette intervened physically that order was restored.”
Keep up to date with all the latest court news from the North East with our free newsletter
The male police officer said in a victim impact statement: “I was terrified I was going to lose an eye at one point. They seemed hell-bent on violence to a level I have never seen before.
“This was more than physical resistance, this was a deliberate attempt to injure a police officer. At one point he placed a finger in my eye which caused me to panic he would gouge my eye out.”
The officer was taken to hospital with stinging in his eye and pain in his head from being punched. He was found to have a scratch to his eye but was not permanently injured.
He added: “It left me shaken up and I had to explain my injuries to my young children and they would worry about me at work.”
Lewis Bayat, who has 24 previous convictions, including several for assault, and Leon Bayat, who has one previous conviction for burglary, both admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The pair, both of no fixed address, also admitted three offences of fraud by false representation in 2023 after scamming three men into believing they were buying genuine Apple iPhones for hundreds of pounds which turned out to be counterfeit.
They were both sentenced to 12 month community orders, partly due to the face they had served time in prison on remand.
Jason Smith, for Leon Bayat, said: “They have a horrific history. It’s rare to see such a deprived and horrendous history and lack of care for two individuals from the age of three.” He said they had been forced out of previous accommodation after being threatened with a knife and were “left in limbo”. He added that they needed support and Jennifer Coxon, for Lewis Bayat, agreed with that submission.
Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp community for all the latest court and crime news sent direct to your phone.
In this private group, you can expect the day’s top court and crime stories, including breaking news and live blogs
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, affiliate content, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
CLICK HERE TO JOIN