Pub thug fractured man's skull and left him with bleeding brain after Wakefield bar attack
A man was left with a broken jaw, fractured skull and bleeds to his brain after being knocked unconscious during a pub fight, which was all caught on CCTV.
Leon Stead was jailed for the sickening unprovoked attack at The Junction Inn in Normanton, which left the victim laid motionless on the floor.
Leeds Crown Court was shown the footage from the incident on the evening of August 1 last year.
The 25-year-old was seen entering the pub and talking to three men stood at the bar, particularly the victim. He then lashed out, throwing punches at the man as the fight moved out of shot.
Further footage showed Stead outside having a head wound tended to, then finally footage from the car park at the rear of the pub.
The victim appeared to approach Stead again to talk to him, with Stead lashing out again, this time with a punch that connected with the man’s head, sending him to the floor unconscious.
The victim suffered three fractures to his skull, two to his jaw and three bleeds were found on his brain.
Stead, of no fixed address, made no comment during his police interview. He later admitted Section 20 GBH without intent.
He also admitted arson and three counts of assaults on emergency workers from February 11 of this year.
A man on Willowbridge Lane in Castleford spotted smoke pouring from Stead’s flat at around 7.30am and he rushed inside, finding Stead coughing. Carrying him to safety through the thick smoke, Stead then bizarrely ran back inside.
He then kicked and punched three police officers who arrived at the scene. He later said he had fallen asleep and left a cigarette burning.
Stead has multiple previous convictions including assaults on emergency workers, battery and possession of a bladed article.
Mitigating, Shufqat Khan said of the pub assault that Stead regrets the evening, had known the man for about four years and that he had been like a “father figure”.
He said he had not been able to apologise to the man. For the fire, he said Stead had been in an “unstable frame of mind” at the time.
Judge Richard Mansell KC jailed Stead for three years and six months. Referring to the pub assault, he said: “It was very fortunate to have made a relatively swift and full recovery.
“They were grave and life-threatening injuries.”
He was also given a five-year restraining order to keep him away from the victim.