Wakefield home hammer attacker spared immediate custody
Thug burst in armed with with fearsome weapon
An enraged thug burst into a home and attacked a man with a hammer, striking him with such force he knocked him unconscious.
Jack Kennedy then smashed up the man’s car which was parked outside, writing it off.
But the 30-year-old was spared immediate custody at Leeds Crown Court after the charges were reduced to ABH and criminal damage, having initially faced an offence of intending to cause GBH.
The victim had been watching rugby at his friend’s house on Beech Grove in Featherstone on the evening of June 22, 2023, prosecutor Jemima Stephenson-Finn told the court.
At around 9.30pm, Kennedy burst into the property acting aggressively and came at the man, swinging his arms.
He then used a hammer to strike him, catching him and rendering him unconscious. He quickly woke up and realised he was bleeding heavily from his head.
Kennedy continued trying to attack him and then turned on the victim’s friend. The bleeding victim was able to push Kennedy from the home and lock the door.
But he then returned and began to smash up the man’s Audi A3 parked outside.
The police were called and Kennedy was later arrested from his own home. His jacket was stained with the blood of the victim.
Kennedy, of Hall Street, Featherstone, then refused to answer questions during his police interview.
He has just one previous conviction for burglary, but from 2012 when he was a youth.
Mitigating, Sean Smith pointed to his lack of convictions and said the attack was “out of character”.
He said there had been no trouble in the three years since then. However, he did acknowledge that “alcohol was a problem” for Kennedy.
The judge, Recorder David Gordon, gave him a 36-week sentence, suspended for 12 months.
He ordered him to complete 20 rehabilitation days with probation and a nine-month alcohol treatment requirement.