A man who got involved in a row outside a nightclub later punched his victim in the street and fled. Lewis Revilles, 20, who knew one of the club security staff and initially tried to “diffuse” an incident, attacked Samuel Lock then hid in his grandparents’ loft.
Police caught him there and he admitted wounding. A judge heard his victim, Mr Lock, was so badly injured he was treated at Ysbyty Gwynedd then the Royal Stoke University Hospital. He has also had a spell at a psychiatric unit due to the effects of the incident in Bangor last January.
The judge at Caernarfon Crown Court said Revilles was aware of the “danger” of what the effects of the single punch could have been. She gave him an 18-month jail term but suspended it for 18 months. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community now
Prosecutor Elen Owen said Samuel Lock had gone with friends to the Trilogy nightclub in Bangor on January 14 last year. There was an incident and Mr Lock and his friends were asked to leave. Revilles knew one of the security staff and tried to intervene before both Mr Lock and Revilles walked away along Brick Street.
Then, Mr Lock and the defendant Revilles pushed each other before Revilles punched Mr Lock once in the face, causing him to fall backwards. Mr Lock suffered injuries to his face and the back of his head and was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd. A CT scan revealed he had bleeding on his brain. He was transferred to the RSUH in Stoke-on-Trent where he was found to have a fracture at the back of his skull.
The court heard Revilles fled to his grandparents’ home after the assault. Police found him hiding in the loft. He was arrested and gave no comment answers to questions.
Ms Owen read out two victim statements from Mr Lock. In the first one last March he said he felt considerable pain, daily headaches and had lost his hearing in his right ear after he was assaulted. He was initially unable to work and lost £2,000 in wages. He also said he left Bangor as he didn’t feel safe there anymore.
In his second victim statement, in July, Mr Lock said he’d had to give up his driving licence due to his head injury from the assault and had to take taxis to work as he lived in a rural place. He also said his mental health had deteriorated due to the assault to such an extent that he had been treated in a psychiatric ward.
Simon Rogers, defending, said his client had shown remorse. The court heard Revilles, of Greenwood Avenue, Maesgeirchen, Bangor, had tried to help over an earlier incident. “The defendant became involved, in essence, for the right reasons to begin with in the hope of diffusing what was going on, and sadly it escalated. He accepted he acted unlawfully when he delivered the blow.”
The judge, Her Honour Nicola Jones, said Samuel Lock had been ejected from the nightclub due to his behaviour and tried to remonstrate with the security staff. As Revilles knew one of them, Revilles had intervened. Shortly after the pair walked away from the nightclub, Mr Lock then ran, but Revilles, who was intoxicated, ran after him and punched him, causing serious injuries.
As well as the suspended sentence, she ordered the defendant to do 25 days of rehabilitation activity. He will also have to wear an electronic tag during a six-month 9pm to 6am curfew. And a five-month restraining order was put in place prohibiting the offender from contacting his victim.
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