The victim of a robbery who was slashed with a knife drove at his attackers and left one with a fractured leg after hitting him with a "glancing blow" of his car. He then ditched the vehicle in a car park before walking to hospital covered in blood.
Ryan Beirne, 30, was driving through Cwmbran at around 8.30pm of August 24 last year and had stopped to speak to a friend. But his car was surrounded by a group of men who began to assault him.
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday heard the group managed to get inside the car and one of their number struck Beirne with a knife causing a laceration to the right side of his head and a cut to his right hand. The group demanded the defendant's chain and snatched a mobile phone from his hand before running off.
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Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins said Beirne was seriously injured and was bleeding profusely as he tried to drive away. She said the defendant was in shock and in no fit state to drive but he made the decision to drive back towards his assailants in an attempt to get his property.
Among the group who attacked Beirne was Adam Mathias who had been released from prison the same day and has a previous conviction for robbery with a knife. Ms Smith-Higgins said Mr Mathias recalled a white car driving "fast and aggressively" towards the group.
Witnesses saw Beirne's Audi A3 colliding with Mr Mathias in a "glancing blow" on a grass bank after the defendant mounted a kerb and drove along a public footpath. Following the collision he drove off at speed and parked the car less than a mile away before abandoning the vehicle.
Mr Mathias was found by passers-by face-down with blood coming from his nose and mouth and a "twisted" right leg. He was in and out of consciousness and was taken to hospital where he was treated for a wound to his forehead, bruises to his right eye socket, injuries to his mouth, abrasions to his right lower abdomen and lower knee, a fracture to the right thighbone, and injuries to his kidneys.
Beirne was seen to run away from the car park, covered in blood, and asked members of the public if he looked "bad". The incident was reported to the police who found the Audi. There was blood inside and outside the car which was examined and contained a DNA profile belonging to Beirne.
At around 9.25pm the defendant arrived at the Grange University Hospital and was treated for severe injuries to his head. He said he had been involved in an incident involving a knife but refused to give details and didn't want to engage with staff, which aroused suspicion. The police later arrived at the hospital and arrested Beirne.
The defendant, of Lime Crescent, Newport, later pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and dangerous driving. The court heard he has previous convictions for driving without a licence, aggravated vehicle-taking, failing to give his name and address following an accident, driving without insurance, and handling stolen goods.
In mitigation Byron Broadstock said one of the group, not Mr Mathias, was arrested on suspicion of his client's attempted murder but was not charged due to insufficient evidence. He said the defendant had "no animosity" to Mr Mathias and he never intended to strike the victim but only to retrieve his belongings.
Sentencing, Judge Jeremy Jenkins said: "What you did was the height of foolishness albeit I accept you were in shock and had been seriously attacked yourself. You could have so easily killed that young man and had you done so you would have been facing a long period in custody indeed."
Beirne was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment suspended for two years. He was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work, to pay costs of £1,630, and disqualified from driving for two years.
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