Ex-Bartley builder Alan Cass jailed for 18 months at Southampton Crown Court for violent attack
A FORMER Bartley builder was jailed for his part in an attack which a judge said "could quite easily" have been fatal.
Alan Cass (45) caused the victim a hip fracture when he tackled him on a roundabout in broad daylight, Southampton Crown Court heard.
He called over accomplice Paul Sinclair (53) to the scene who "set about" the victim, kicking and stamping him until he lost consciousness, prosecutor Rosie Burns said.
The incident in Southampton on 10th April last year was sparked by a dispute between Sinclair and the victim over work, the prosecutor outlined.
She said a woman and the victim engaged in a verbal altercation before Cass intervened with a rugby tackle, sending the man's glasses flying.
Cass put his fingers in the man’s eyes to keep him at the scene before summoning Sinclair.
The victim was rushed to hospital with a fractured hip, concussion, blurred vision and deep cuts and bruises.
In a statement he said: "The level of violence I was subjected to was terrifying and completely unprovoked" and he would not be able to work as a builder "for the foreseeable future".
In police interview, Cass offered no comment while Sinclair outlined the background of the dispute between him and the victim which involved a work van, Mrs Burns said.
Cass subsequently pleaded not guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent but was unanimously found guilty at a trial.
Sinclair pleaded guilty to one count of causing actual bodily harm.
Cass was also sentenced on two matters of flouting a non-molestation order, which he admitted. They related to him contacting a woman "persistently and deliberately", Mrs Burns told the court.
Mitigating for Cass, Paul Walker said he had been a successful businessman before spiralling into alcoholism and losing his relationship and company.
He said Cass’s problem was so bad he gave evidence in his trial while intoxicated, and that "low ebb" had caused him to acknowledge his problem. Mr Walker alluded to Cass having "demons" from his childhood and said he wanted to rebuild his life.
Meanwhile, for Sinclair – who lives in Thornhill, Southampton – Jim Osborne said his client had stayed out of trouble for more than 30 years and was a father of four and grandfather of two.
Sinclair ran a successful welding and fabrication business and was about to land a contract working for Fareham Borough Council that would enable its expansion.
Barristers for both men pleaded for their punishments to be suspended so they could move on with their lives and get back to work.
However, Judge Burrell gave each 18 months' jail, noting Cass’s attack caused "very serious injury".
Judge Burrell told Sinclair: "He [the victim] was on the ground, in pain already. He was completely defenceless and then you set about his head and kicked and stamped on it. He could have been killed quite easily or brain damaged."
A former resident of Bramshaw, Cass’s last address was in Bournemouth. According to Companies House he was the director of Capricorn Construction, which was based in Bartley, before it was dissolved in 2015.