Judge carries out warning (From Hampshire Chronicle)

Judge carries out warning

5:34pm Friday 9th May 2008

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A PAIR of Stanmore men were back in court today (May 9), after being warned six months ago to stay out of trouble or face a two-year prison sentence.

Warren Hugh, 20, of Bailey Close, Stanmore, and James McGuire, 18, of Kingsley Place, Stanmore, last year pleaded guilty to charges of actual bodily harm, following an attack on a man in City Road in September 2007. Hugh also pleaded guilty to intimidating the victim, George Dragon, in January this year, in a bid to get him to drop charges.

At a hearing last November, Judge Patrick Hooton decided to defer sentencing for six months and ordered the pair to stay out of trouble, get jobs and save up money for compensation in the meantime.

However, when they returned to court today, Judge Hooton heard how one of the men had done well to get his life back on track, but the other had been less than successful.

The court heard how Hugh had since been convicted of common assault and driving while disqualified. He was sentenced to 90 days in custody for the assault and 21 days community service for the driving offence, with which he failed to comply.

Mitigating, Richard Wheeler said that Hugh had failed to comply with his community service order because he had been working long hours at The Willow Tree pub, trying to keep his job and get his life back on track. He added that the more recent assault had happened because Hugh had discovered a man of 25 was seeing a 15-year-old girl and he thought it was wrong, they got into an argument and a fight broke out.

Mr Wheeler said that Hugh had been making the best of a bad situation in prison, and had taken courses in numeracy and catering to rehabilitate himself.

Sentencing, Judge Hooton told Hugh: "You, Warren, you've blown it. I told you what would happen. You knew the score, you couldn't meet the demands of the deferred sentence."

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison for the ABH and six months for the intimidation charge, to run consecutively.

Sentencing McGuire, who has since got a job and saved £250 towards compensation, Judge Hooton said: "You've just about saved your skin because you've revised your attitude, having been convicted of that very nasty assault."

He was handed a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to attend an adult attendance centre for 36 hours and pay Mr Dragon £250 in compensation.

Mr Dragon, who was with three other men at the time of the assault in the early hours of Saturday, September 23, suffered head and face injuries.

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