'Danger assessment' on man found guilty of cashpoint attack

Alan Davies, 49, was cleared of attempting to rob his victim but convicted of wounding him with intent.

A jury at Mold Crown Court heard Davies jumped into the air to break his victim’s leg by stamping on it.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke remanded Davies in custody for a pre-sentence report.

A psychiatric report had already been prepared and she ordered a dangerous assessment be carried out by the probation service.

“You have been convicted of what you know is a very serious offence,” Judge Lloyd-Clarke said.

“I want to know more about you and I want the issue of dangerousness to be assessed,” she told him.

The court heard how Gareth Wyn Evans, 62, ended up with a broken leg and was knocked unconscious as passers-by, including motorists, stopped to help because they were so concerned at what was taking place.

Davies, 49, of Edwards Field in Newtown, admitted a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm but denied intending to inflict GBH.

He denied attempted robbery on the basis that he genuinely believed he was entitled to ask for money at the time, his barrister John Hedgecoe, told the court.

Paulinus Barnes, prosecuting, said Mr Evans was in Newtown High Street on January 14 withdrawing cash when he was attacked from behind.

His hair was pulled, his head was banged against the wall, he was taken to the floor and stamped on with such force that his leg was broken.

“The man who attacked him was demanding money,” he said.

Mr Evans and his partner Elizabeth Davies had been out shopping, they split up and later met up.

She had a rescue Alsatian type dog named Cody with her, and the animal was described as nervous.

The prosecutor said that she was bumped into by a man who had a dog.

Her dog sniffed the other dog and as that was happening the other man, who the prosecution said was Davies, dropped his rucksack and broke his whisky bottle.

She went to the car as her husband went to the cash point.

His recollection of what happened next was affected by the fact that he was knocked out.

He recalled being held by the scruff of his neck, a man said he owed him £16, he was pushed into the wall of the bank, forwards then backwards.

When he was on the floor, he recalled being stamped on by the man.

Davies was said to have jumped up with both feet off the floor and landed on his leg but that was denied by the defendant.

It was about mid-day, in a busy high street, and witnesses saw him being pushed, being kicked and shouts of “you owe me money”.

A crowd gathered and members of the public intervened.

Davies left the scene but was followed by one of the crowd who rang the police and pointed out the house he had gone to.

The defendant claimed to police that the other man started it and said “his dog attacked mine.”

Interviewed, he said that morning he had picked up his dog from his mother’s.

He went to Iceland and bought a bottle of whisky, he put that in his duffle bag and claimed that later his dog was attacked by a bigger dog.

It was during that incident his bag fell and the bottle broke.

He saw the man at the cash point and told him he “owed him fifteen quid for the whisky.”

The man tried to brush past him, he alleged, and he admitted grabbing him.

He fell to the floor and he admitted kicking him once only.

When people gathered around he “did a runner.”

Davies denied trying to rob the man and said he felt justified in asking for money for the broken bottle of whisky.

He had tried to pull money out of his hand but had not succeeded.

Mr Evans was taken to Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth where he was found to have a fractured tibia and fibula consistent with being stamped on.

He remained in hospital for two weeks. In view of a previous bad experience he opted for a non surgical option of bed rest and immobilisation of his knee and lower leg.

In evidence the defendant accepted that he was guilty of wounding but not intending to do so. He denied stamping and Mr Hedgecoe told the jury that a number of witness had not seen him stamping.

Davies will be sentenced on August 25.